🌊 Portrait of a J6er

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We have read a lot about January 6 (J6) and the protesters, but we wanted to hear from them directly: Who are they? What did they believe? Why did they do what they did? That led us to Daniel Christmann: A large, bearded plumber; a former political candidate for the New York Senate; a self-described journalist – and an accused insurrectionist.

By Max Hudgins

The US Capitol is not where one would typically hope to find themselves while tripping on mushrooms, yet that’s where Christmann was on January 6, 2021. While his trip started that morning, his journey to DC started three years prior, when he was working as a plumber in Brooklyn. 

“The whole reason why I even got into politics in the first place is because I broke my leg on the job, and my livelihood got taken away from me. So all I had was my radio show to lean into…I just went all in on that,” Christmann told Roca. 

Born in September 1982, roughly an hour north of New York City, Christmann described his early life as “typical American.” Beginning at age 14, though, an “intense” divorce left him living with his mother and unable to see his father for five years. Christmann’s relationship with his mother soured – he described her with a certain c-word we won’t publish here – and upon turning 18, moved to New York City with his older brother.

Christmann initially studied psychology at Hunter College in Manhattan before transferring to the University of Buffalo because of what he called 9/11-induced housing difficulties. He later dropped out of Buffalo, citing a bureaucratic error with his financial aid, and returned to New York City, where he began work as a plumber.

In 2018, Christmann suffered a broken leg on the job. Unable to do the physical labor he was used to, he spent the first year of the pandemic running a radio show and a politically-focused YouTube channel that often covered protests, many anti-lockdown, in New York City. Christmann’s videos showed him talking to MAGA-hat-wearing protesters rallying against lockdown restrictions. 

His videos include takes on then-Governor Andrew Cuomo (both a “fascist” and “Marxist,” per Christmann), comparisons between the Gestapo and the NYPD, and his skeptical view of the Covid vaccine.

Yet Christmann doesn’t identify as right-wing or a member of the MAGA crowd. At one point, he registered as a presidential candidate with the Libertarian Party, and in November 2020, he ran as an independent – under the slogan “deeds not leases” – for the New York State Senate. (He lost both the nomination and the race.)

“I'm a lot more liberal than people think I am,” Christmann told Roca. “Like, I hate police brutality. I hate how they trample on our rights. My radio show, I've always been anti-cop.”

Christmann lives in a famously progressive part of Brooklyn and said he has many friends affiliated with Antifa and BLM. He often made disparaging remarks about Trump supporters and Republicans in general. He took Roca to a bar with a trans flag behind the wall. The progressive clientele knew and liked him, despite the J6 label.  

And Christmann claims he went to Washington not to overturn the election results, but to cover protests as he had been doing that summer. He said he had been trying to build an upstart news network called City News Now and had been investigating Trump rallies to see if the crowds were as small as the media had been reporting. 

Christmann says that’s what drove him and a couple of friends to Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021.

Editor’s Note

We can’t wait to hear your thoughts on today’s story. Also, let us know if you want more coverage like this. And while some people will also surely be angry that we spoke with Daniel, you may recall the profile we did last fall of a convicted murderer in Milwaukee. There’s always a story behind the label. 

By the way, if you have any tips or know anyone who would be good to profile, let us know. All tips will be kept confidential.

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Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.
—Max and Max