On March 25, 2023, former U.S. President Donald Trump held a rally for his 2024 presidential campaign in Waco, Texas. Claims soon spread that a "pro-insurrection" song was performed at the rally by a group called the "J6 Prisoners Choir"
The claims spread on social media platforms like Reddit, TikTok, and Twitter. Some posts said that as the group sang, large screens displayed footage of the Jan. 6 capitol attack, and that Trump placed his hand over his heart while the song was being played.
The J6 Prisoners Choir is a real group, but they did not perform live at the rally. A recording of the group singing the song was played as screens indeed showed footage of the Jan. 6 capitol attack. Video evidence from the event also showed the former president put his hand over his heart during the presentation, and the audience was asked to rise and place their hands over their hearts as well.
The J6 Prisoners Choir consists of approximately 20 men who are currently incarcerated in Washington, D.C., for crimes associated with the Jan. 6 capitol riots.
The recording played at the rally was called "Justice for All." It cut between the choir singing the Star-Spangled Banner and Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. At the end of the recording, the men chanted, "USA! USA!" There were no original lyrics in the song, and no explicit references to the insurrection in the song itself.
Separately, before the rally began, Ted Nugent performed the national anthem. Video of Nugent's performance has been shared on conservative social platforms like Rumble.
The rally followed a flurry of news reports the week prior about a Manhattan grand jury deliberating whether to indict Trump in connection with hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. The potential indictment was one of the main topics Trump talked about at the Waco rally.
We previously fact-checked several false claims about the hush-money investigation, including rumors that Trump had already been arrested even though indictment had been issued.