Jailed Capitol-riot defendant blasts Trump for canceling his January 6 press conference, saying he abandoned his supporters

Sophia Ankel
Updated ·2 min read
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  • Trump canceled a scheduled press conference to mark the first anniversary of the Capitol riot.

  • A jailed Capitol-riot defendant said he was disappointed in the decision and felt abandoned.

  • Edward Jacob Lang is awaiting trial in a Washington, DC, jail after he assaulted a police officer.

A jailed Capitol-riot defendant said he was disappointed in Donald Trump for canceling his January 6 press conference and suggested that the former president had abandoned his supporters.

"There should be a hundred thousand people in DC tomorrow at the very minimum," Edward Jacob Lang, 26, told "The Stew Peters Show" in a Wednesday phone interview from jail. He continued, "I am so disappointed with Trump and with the American people at large that just do not get behind the January 6 political prisoners."

"I feel like I've been completely abandoned by the political hierarchy here. Where are our leaders standing up, our congressmen, our senators, our president?" he said. "President Trump, where are you?"

Lang then addressed Trump directly, saying: "January 6 you better do a press conference, man. We are rotting in jail because we stood up for what you told us to stand up for."

Lang, from New York, has been charged with 11 counts, including assaulting a police officer with a bat and a protective shield, court documents said.

He is among dozens of Capitol-riot defendants facing the most serious accusations relating to the insurrection, and who are awaiting trial in the Central Detention Facility in Washington, DC.

Lang's interview came days after Trump abruptly canceled a press conference that was set to take place at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on the first anniversary of the event. In a statement, Trump said he planned to hold a rally in Arizona on January 15 instead.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to address the nation on Thursday and is expected to highlight Trump's "singular responsibility" for the Capitol attack.

As of Wednesday, the Justice Department has charged more than 730 people in the insurrection.

Read the original article on Business Insider