Politics
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Days after he was released from prison thanks to President Donald Trump’s pardons to rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, former Maine Senate candidate Matt Brackley will speak to Republicans from four counties at an event.
The Cumberland, York, Sagadahoc and Lincoln County Republican committees are hosting the Waldoboro man at Topsham Baptist Church on Saturday afternoon, according to an online invitation for the event titled, “A Maine Patriot Story – J6er Matt Brackley.”
Brackley, who made a bid for the Maine Senate in 2022, pleaded guilty last year to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Before his sentencing, he denied harming police.
But prosecutors said he joined a pro-Trump mob in storming the Capitol and pushed his way through officers while asking about the location of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. While he was in the Capitol for about 40 minutes, prosecutors said Brackley led a crowd toward the Senate chamber and left the building after police deployed chemical spray.
Trump, who lost to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election and overcame a felony conviction and numerous criminal cases by beating Vice President Kamala Harris in November, issued pardons and commutations Monday to all of the roughly 1,500 defendants in Jan. 6 cases, including 15 with ties to Maine.
After Monday’s inauguration, Trump ordered the release of all Jan. 6 inmates and halted any pending cases, going beyond what his allies suggested would only be pardons for nonviolent offenders. Brackley said he was released from federal prison in Massachusetts, around 2 a.m. Tuesday and was “grateful for the pardon and happy to be home with my family.”
Brackley did not say earlier this week whether he was remorseful for his actions but then told News Center Maine he “gravely regret[ted] that I pushed past those officers, and on paper, that is assault.” He also said he still believes Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” and that people “who steal elections are evil people.”
Asked Friday whether he plans to discuss at Saturday’s event his feelings about what he did on Jan. 6 and about the pardon, Brackley only said in a text message he will “definitely be discussing all of the above.”
“We have the honor of hearing Matt’s side of the story this Saturday in Topsham,” the event page run by Cumberland County Republicans says. “We hope to see you there!”
The Cumberland County Republican Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning. Lincoln County Republicans gave Brackley an emcee role at a March 2024 caucus, a move that led 2024 U.S. Senate candidate Demi Kouzounas to not attend that meeting after she expressed opposition to those who “shove law enforcement around.”
