Donald Trump Attempts to Help January 6 Defendants, Attends Fundraising Dinner at His Golf Club

Ahead of his own arrest on Thursday, August 24, 2023, former President Donald J. Trump attended a fundraising dinner for January 6th defendants at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club. The Republican candidate is set to turn himself into authorities for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 elections against Joe Biden. This would be his last visit before the final showdown begins.

The 77-year-old has decided to surrender in light of the charges filed against him; however, as soon as he entered the ballroom for the fundraising dinner, the crowd cheered on "Our Hero" and "We love Trump," reports the Daily Mail. The videos online showed support for the politician before he presented himself to the court.

The dinner was in favor of the Patriot Freedom Project. It's a non-profit initiative that supports those defendants who were criminally charged in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. They describe it as "political prisoners" and highly "controversial." There's no news of how much money has been raised, but Trump addressed the crowd.

Former Rep. Louie Gohmert also took the stage; Trump's first words were, "What happened is just horrible," in a video obtained by the outlet. He added, "It's so unfair. It would be one thing if everyone was treated equally." But he reassured, "People who have been treated unfairly are going to be treated extremely, extremely fairly." 

His appearance at the fundraiser was right before his appointment at the Fulton County jail to be arrested for the 91 felony charges against him related to his interference in the 2020 elections. However, he's expected to be released on bail. Trump addressed the PFP (Patriotic Freedom Project) previously in June.

"I'm gonna make a contribution," he told the crowd. "There have been few people that have been treated in the history of our country like the people that you love, like the people that have gone through so much." The non-profit was held accountable for the money it raised and how it was spent.

The former president has always been a supporter of those who were questioned in the January 6 case and promised "he would pardon a large portion" of them if he were re-elected as the POTUS. More than 1,000 people have been charged and linked to the January 6 attack. About 620 defendants have already been convicted.

Trump's ex-attorney and former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, surrendered in front of Fulton County and has appeared in Atlanta against the charges in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case. He has been one of the nineteen indicted, but he's denied all allegations of any wrongdoing, just as Trump has.

Giuliani addressed the reporters waiting outside his apartment, saying, "I am going to Georgia, and I'm feeling very, very good about it because I feel I'm defending the rights of all Americans, as I did so many times as a United States attorney." He and his lawyer, John Esposito, are confident they'll be "fully vindicated."