In a letter exclusively obtained by Human Events, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, said "I hope that this initiative will find many adherents, in a spirit of true reparation of the innumerable sins and grave betrayals committed."
"I can only encourage and bless this commendable gesture of penance, to be accompanied by prayer – above all the Holy Rosary – for the beloved Nation which I had the privilege of knowing during my officeas Apostolic Nuncio," he said.
There are defendants "who are awaiting trials who have been incarcerated for 18, 12 months as DOJ delays those trials intentionally to inflict more pain," Julie Kelly reported. She said that Biden's DOJ and FBI "are still arresting people every week. You have new defendants, new people who have been arrested and charged just this week, including for misdemeanor offenses. They are closing in on a thousand total defendants, and the DOJ has warned that they are going to look for a thousand more. Here we are almost two years later; they are still rounding up Trump supporters, destroying their lives, throwing them in prison and ruining their families. It’s really tragic."
Many of these detainees are kept in solitary confinement in their cells in Washington, DC, in a jail many have termed the "gulag." No matter where detainees are arrested, they are then transported to DC where they will face trial. And the conditions of their confinement are facing scrutiny.
"It doesn’t matter really what prison they’re in — and they’re in prisons across the country in indefinite incarceration — they are targeted," Kelly said, "they are specifically mistreated. They’re kept away from their families. They’re kept away from their defense attorneys, which, of course, is a constitutional violation on top of the few other constitutional Bill of Rights violations. So I’ll tell you, I just get inundated with stories and it’s almost impossible to cover because there’s so much happening. And then, of course, you have people who are then convicted or take plea deals hoping that the torment will end, and they’re sentenced to years in prison on nonviolent felonies like obstruction of an official proceeding."
Vigano's call for fasting came in a letter to attorney Joseph McBride, who defends many defendants on Jan 6 charges, and has committed to a 3-day fast to bring attention to the detainees' plight. "My job as an American Catholic Civil Rights Attorney is to defend the persecuted Christ every January Sixer in the most devoted and intelligent way possible," McBride said.
"Archbishop Vigano’s example of outspoken leadership and piety has deeply influenced my personal life and professional work. As such, I could think of no better person to contact for support during this crucial time," he said.
"We have been persecuted, cancelled, and prevented from coalescing as a community of believers and patriots. In 2023, all of that changes. This period of fasting and prayer will be the beginning of our fight back in this truly spiritual war," Ali Alexander, who worked with McBride on the initiative to connect him with Vigano, and earlier this year was called to testify before the January 6 Committee, told Human Events.
That committee had stated their intention to subpoena former President Trump, but in recent days withdrew that subpoena, and noted that their investigation was coming to an end. For many January 6 defendants, they are nowhere near the end of their ordeal, and they are already at risk of being forgotten.
