The J6 Rally and FDNY’s Captain Patterson

On Saturday, I decided to attend the "J6" rally at the U.S. Capitol whose sponsors proclaim that the now jailed insurrectionists are "political prisoners" and "patriots."

I went to support police officers injured and dying from the insurrection.

Having recently moved, I salvaged an old piece of wrapping paper and scrawled "Support Our Police" on it before heading down.

While holding the sign I was asked, again and again, if I was a "counter protester", as if supporting the police who defended democracy on January 6 was counter to the J6 message.

As a retired fire fighter of 23 years service, I was astonished to look across the crowd and see an impressively tall gentleman attired in the full dress uniform of the FDNY speaking to a group of attendees; I wandered over to listen.

With almost professorial authority, Captain Patterson informed folks that the January 6 incident was a "false flag" operation, i.e., that it was carried out by the U.S. Government.

The late Christopher Hitchens used to call someone like Patterson the "diesel exhaust of democracy."

But Patterson's appropriation of FDNY is a deadly serious business because he hijacks the respect and trust accorded the profession to retail his seditious theories.

Over 100 police officers were injured, many of them seriously, during the riot. These January 6 "patriots" engaged in a pitched battle with Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police officers on the approaches to the building.

Officers were punched, kicked, trampled, hit with clubs and sprayed with bear mace; it was a brutal and prolonged assault which culminated with them being over run by the mob.

Since that day five officers have died.

When I brought this to Captain Patterson’s attention, he took vigorous exception that those dying by suicide were job-related despite the fact it is well known that suicide is obviously connected to PTSD and many January 6 officers now struggle with that grave malady.

Not content with his "false flag" assertion, Patterson invoked 9/11 and the 343 dead FDNY fire fighters as part of his diatribe.

He and his cohort will defend the brutal attack and murder of police officers and desecrate the memories of the courageous fallen all to support the narrative of a draft-dodging coward and serial liar who lost fair and square.