In 2021, the group's founder, Brandon Straka, a hairstylist from New York City,[2] was charged with and convicted of participating in the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[8][9] Following this, the group's Facebook page, which had more than half a million followers, was closed for violations of the site's terms of service.[10]
The #WalkAway Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) organization defined as an Alliance/Advocacy Organizations within the Public, Society Benefit - Multipurpose and Other category. The IRS ruling year for tax exemption was 2019.[11] While no IRS annual return is on file for 2019, the 2018 filing shows contributions of $97,950 with officers reported as Brandon Straka, chairman; Maria Albanese, director, and Tracy Diaz, director.[12] As of October 28, 2020, the foundation was involved in an online fundraising campaign through classy.org which had raised nearly $125,000.[13]
The PAC is set up as #Walkaway Campaign PAC and shows receipts of $29,000 through the 2020 cycle. The FEC registration is C00718197 and the treasurer of the PAC is indicated as Dan Backer.[14]
Observers and commentators have raised doubts as to what extent #WalkAway Campaign is an example of astroturfing rather than a genuine grassroots movement. Soon after its founding in 2018, WalkAway received a $10,000 (~$11,536 in 2022) donation from Alex Jones and InfoWars.[15][2][16] In 2019, Straka said WalkAway does not receive major donations and that "everything is grassroots support from Americans who send us $5 or $100."[17] In May 2020, OpenSecrets reported that of the $20,104 donated to WalkAway in 2020, a total of $7,521 was contributed by nine donors who gave $200 or more.[18] One was Straka himself.[better source needed]
A crowd of attackers amid a cloud of tear gas outside the Capitol (top), and an attacker inside the Capitol throws a metal trash can at a police officer (bottom)
Straka attended the 2021 United States Capitol attack and spoke to crowds on January 5 where he referred to the audience as "patriots" and referred repeatedly to a "revolution." He also told the attendees to "fight back" and added, "We are sending a message to the Democrats, we are not going away, you've got a problem!"[22][23]
The next day, he urged protestors to take away a police officer's shield, shouting "Take it away from him" and "Take it! Take it!" Later, as others tried to charge through the entrance to the Capitol, he shouted, "Go! Go!"[23]
On January 8, Facebook closed the #WalkAway page, which had more than half a million followers at the time. The page was replaced with a message from Facebook saying the page had violated its terms of use.[10] The shutdown came in the wake of the Capitol attack, when Facebook and other social media platforms increased their enforcement of terms of service that ban the incitement of violence.[24] Facebook said the page violated a policy on content that was, "hateful, threatening, or obscene".[25]
On January 25, Straka was arrested in Nebraska by the FBI for "impeding law enforcement officers during civil disorder" and unlawful entry into a restricted building, as well as disorderly conduct in relation to his role in the violent disturbance.[23][26] He pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge in October 2021, which could be punishable by up to six months in prison, and agreed to provide private social media and other evidence to investigators.[27] Prosecutors postponed Straka's December 2021 sentencing for thirty days to evaluate evidence he had provided.[28] Straka was later sentenced to three years probation for his role in the Capitol riot.[29]
Reactions
In 2018, David A. Love of CNN condemned the campaign as "pure propaganda [and] a psychological operation."[30]
That same year, Abby Ohlheiser wrote in The Washington Post, "There’s little actual evidence to suggest that #WalkAway represents a mass conversion of millions – or even thousands – of Democrats" and contrasted the broad appeal of true viral videos with the "Conservative Internet viral" nature of the WalkAway video.[31]ThinkProgress characterized the campaign as "a grifting operation," noting efforts by the organizers to sell dinner packages priced in the hundreds of dollars to march attendees.[32]
As well, Slate journalist Mark Joseph Stern accused Straka of presenting royalty-free stock images from Shutterstock and claiming they were of people who had left the Democratic Party,[33] though Straka denied that any such material originated from the WalkAway campaign. Fact-checking website Snopes stated that it could not determine whether this use of stock images had originated from campaign organizers.[34]
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