Event at Donald Trump's New Jersey golf course to support Capitol riot defendants has been postponed

The “J6 Awards Gala” by the nonprofit Stand in the Gap was scheduled for Thursday at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. According to the event listing online, the event was scheduled to raise money and pay tribute to “all J6 defendants who have shown incredible courage and sacrifice.”

But now the event has been postponed.

According to a story by Lucas Frau at NorthJersey.com (part of the same USA Today Network as Golfweek), there’s no word on when or where it might be reinstated:

The event that was going to honor the Capitol riot defendants was scheduled to take place Sept. 5 before the event’s website announced the postponement. A future date, time and location for the event have not been announced.

(Donald) Trump was invited to the event, but it was not confirmed that he would make an appearance. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was another invited speaker, as were UFC fighter Colby Covington and social media influencer Bryce Hall.

General admission tickets were going for $1,500 and a single VIP ticket for $2,500, said the invitation on the fundraiser site. Bundle tickets for a table of 12 were available for $30,000 and $50,000.

Reaction was harsh

Several people online had reacted to the event in disbelief, including former Mike Pence advisor Olivia Troye.

“Celebrating the people who endangered the life of (Trump’s) own Vice President & glorifying violence is a dangerous assault on our democracy & a disgraceful rewriting of history,” Troye, who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, wrote on X. “We must all stand together against him.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., avoided weighing in on whether Trump should have attended the event had it happened, but condemned the rioters. The golf course, owned by the Trump organization, housed LIV Golf events in both 2022 and 2023.

“I have no sympathy for those who broke into the Capitol, destroyed the place and hurt police officers,” Graham said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. When pressed on whether Trump should allow the event to happen, Graham responded “I’ll leave it up to him as to what causes to support.”

“Most Americans believe the January 6 rioters who violently attacked police officers and tried to overthrow an election belong in jail,” Harris-Walz spokesperson Sarafina Chitika told USA Today, calling the event “a slap in the face to every police officer who defended our Capitol in its darkest hour and every American who believes in the rule of law.”

What happened on Jan. 6?

On Jan. 6, 2021, a large group of demonstrators who aligned themselves as Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol while Congress was in the process of confirming the 2020 presidential election results.

Investigations into the riots led to charges against more than 1,424 people as of May 2024, a Justice Department release said.

About 140 police officers were assaulted during the insurrection, the release said. One officer, Brian Sicknick of South River, New Jersey, died after being sprayed with chemicals by attackers and suffering two strokes in the aftermath. Four more officers died by suicide in the weeks after the attack.

Four attackers also died, including Ashli Babbitt, 35, an Air Force veteran who was shot to death by police while trying to break through a door to a secure area and who has since become something of a martyr to Trump supporters.

The riots led to a second impeachment of Trump. After the insurrection, the former president was indicted in a criminal federal case that accused him of trying to overturn the election.

Kinsey Crowley of USA Today contributed to this report.