‘Justice for J6’ Rally Leader Once Praised Far-Right Japanese Assassin

The Republican operative serving as the head organizer of the “Justice for J6” rally made efforts to overturn the 2020 election—and once praised a far-right assassin. Mother Jones editor David Corn reported Friday that Matt Braynard, who previously worked for former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, repeatedly praised Otoya Yamaguchi, a late Japanese far-right nationalist. In 1960, Yamaguchi murdered the chairman of the Japan Socialist Party before committing suicide while in custody. Braynard named a literary magazine after Yamaguchi during his time at Columbia for a master’s program, calling him “another great patriot who put bayonets through the enemies who threatened his nation” when noting his shared birthdate with George Washington. Braynard later told Corn that Yamaguchi helped ward off a Khmer Rouge-esque genocide in Japan and should be “memorialized and remembered.”

Braynard has spent the last few weeks advocating for those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, most of whom believed Trump’s election win was stolen. Braynard himself has led his own quest to prove voter fraud, testifying to Georgia officials that he had evidence of illegal ballots—that would later prove to be false.