Outside the DC jail, where Jan. 6 rage and devotion live on

Brandon Fellows still insists he did nothing wrong on Jan. 6, 2021.

In his telling, he entered the U.S. Capitol “with permission from Capitol Police.” According to the Justice Department, however, Mr. Fellows entered the Capitol building through a broken window, then “paraded” through a door holding a Trump 2020 flag. He was sentenced to 42 months – including five months for contempt over repeated outbursts during his trial – and was released from prison in May.

Now the former chimney repairman from Schenectady, New York, has become a regular presence at nightly vigils taking place outside the D.C. Central Detention Facility, where he was once held. On a frigid January night, Mr. Fellows was one of 10 people gathered outside the jail to support those still inside for their participation in the U.S. Capitol riot. 

They remain united in their belief that the 2020 election was stolen and that U.S. government oppression continues. And they are counting the days until Jan. 20, when Donald Trump becomes president again. He has promised to pardon most, if not all, of the so-called J6-ers.

What if Mr. Trump doesn’t pardon everybody?

“There’s a good chance the vigils will continue,” says Sherri Hafner, a retired Army medic who livestreams the nightly gatherings.

Brandon Fellows still insists he did nothing wrong on Jan. 6, 2021.

In his telling, he entered the U.S. Capitol “with permission from Capitol Police, and had a blast.” He acknowledges that he sat at a senator’s desk and smoked marijuana. But, he says, “Somebody just passed it to me, and heavily coerced me to take those two hits.”

“I hosted a really good party,” Mr. Fellows says of his Jan. 6 actions, adding, “Unfortunately, the FBI felt differently about it.”

According to the Justice Department, Mr. Fellows entered the Capitol building through a broken window, then “paraded” through a door holding a Trump 2020 flag. He was sentenced to 42 months – including five months for contempt over repeated outbursts during his trial – and was released from prison in May. Now, the former chimney repairman from Schenectady, New York, has become a regular presence at nightly vigils taking place outside the D.C. Central Detention Facility, where he was once held.

On a frigid January night, Mr. Fellows was one of 10 people gathered outside the jail to support those still inside – about 20 prisoners, they say – for their participation in the Capitol riot. Prisoners can look out the window and see the vigil, flashing the indoor lights to signal their appreciation. Every night, a few are able to call a participant’s cellphone, which is amplified to the crowd via loudspeaker.

It’s a tight-knit, eclectic group that includes Micki Witthoeft, the mother of Ashli Babbitt, a Jan. 6 rioter who was shot dead by a Capitol Police officer; a military veteran known as 1791 Storm Trooper, who livestreams the nightly vigil; a retired Army medic who also runs a livestream; and several congregants from a local Chinese Christian church, including a retired federal employee named Dwight Yen.

Ms. Witthoeft started the nightly vigils on Aug. 1, 2022, after she says her daughter spoke to her in a dream.