The march is part of multiple events set to take place at Freedom Plaza in D.C. some time around noon. They’ve been billed as “Stop the Steal” and “March for Trump,” in reference to the unsubstantiated claims that the presidential election was stolen from President Donald Trump.
Million MAGA March appears to take its name from the 1995 Million Man March of African American men on Washington. A Civil Rights march, it was led by controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
The Proud Boys have publicly denied tolerating white supremacy but the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a legal advocacy organization, has designated them a hate group.
Amy Cooter, a Vanderbilt University senior lecturer studying nationalism, told USA Today in September that the group had “clear ties to white supremacy.”
As the SPLC notes on its website Friday, a number of right-wing militia groups are expected to attend the Million MAGA March, including the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters - Original, which the organization calls antigovernment militias.
Among the expected speakers at Saturday’s events are One America News Network (OANN) correspondent Jack Posobiec and live-streamer Nick Fuentes - both of whom the SPLC links to white supremacy. Mike Cernovich, whom the SPLC refers to as a male supremacist, is also slated to appear.
Perhaps the most prominent speaker will be Congresswoman-elect Marjory Taylor-Greene. She has publicly supported the QAnon conspiracy theory, saying it’s “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out.”
The supposed international cabal of Satanist pedophiles is said to include billionaires and prominent Democrats. The QAnon conspiracy claims Trump has been secretly fighting them. The theory is widely viewed as being rooted in Antisemitism.
My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, a strong supporter of the president, will be a “featured guest” in D.C., according to the New York Post, while Trump has indicated he may make a surprise appearance at the event.
Despite its name, it remains unclear how many people will attend the Million MAGA March. The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism’s vice president Oren Segal told USA Today on Friday that he didn’t expect crowds comparable to the Women’s March in 2017.
“Who actually shows up remains to be seen,” Segal said. “The danger here is that you have extremists who are having the same ideas, sharing the same ideology, promoting the same thoughts as non-extremists.”
