According to the Gazette, the man performing as the prisoner was Brandon Straka. Straka, who describes himself as a “former liberal,” previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct for his involvement in the capitol riot and was sentenced to 90 days of home detention, plus a $5,000 fine and three years probation.
It was later revealed that Straka had cooperated extensively with authorities, providing “significant information” about his fellow January 6 rioters.
Seeing Straka in the cage, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene instructed the men playing guards to open the cell door. She then knelt at Straka’s feet, clasping his hands. The two exchanged words and prayed together.
The conference’s main stage also featured a veiled reference to January 6, as a digital banner and announcement said, “We are all domestic terrorists.”
On the other hand, CPAC also raised the eyebrows of some of Donald Trump’s most avid supporters, though for very different reasons.
Political commentator and former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis boycotted the event, criticizing it for not being conservative enough. Ellis cited the inclusion of event sponsor Log Cabin Republicans, a Republican advocacy group for LGBTQ+ rights, and the fact that CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp has referred to controversial trans athlete Lia Thomas with the pronoun “her.”
When Donald Trump himself took the stage at CPAC, he delivered a nearly two-hour address.
“America is on the edge of an abyss and our movement is the only force on earth that can save it,” Trump said during his speech. “What we do in the next few months and the next few years will determine whether American civilization will collapse or fail or whether it will triumph and thrive frankly like never before. This is no time for complacency.”
Donald Trump overwhelmingly won an unofficial straw poll asking attendees their preferred candidate for the Republican presidential nominee for the 2024 election.
