This is a special issue of The Uprising, a newsletter dedicated to independent, original political journalism.

Jim Lamon, a businessman and Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona, gave a “generous” donation to a group that led planning for this weekend’s scheduled demonstration in support of the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6. 

That “JusticeForJ6” demonstration, organized by Look Ahead America, is set to take place near the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, September 18. The rally has been described as the “biggest security test” in the area since the attack on January 6, and police are braced for armed protesters. Lamon launched his Senate race one week after his contribution to Look Ahead America was announced.

Lamon and his campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment about his donation to Look Ahead America or whether he supports the “JusticeForJ6” event.

According to Look Ahead America Executive Director Matt Braynard, the “JusticeForJ6” demonstrations will take place at multiple state capitols over the coming weeks to “oppose the tyrannical and inhumane treatment of the January 6 political prisoners who have been targeted by the Department of Justice and the FBI.”

Lamon is the founder and CEO of DEPCOM, a solar power company in his home state. His donation to Look Ahead America previously madeheadlines due to the group’s involvement in efforts to question the results of last year’s election. Axios reported Lamon’s contribution was in the “millions” and that he “had been laying the groundwork for his run by the time he donated to LAA.” Since launching his campaign, Lamon has expressed a belief that last year’s presidential election was somehow illegitimate.

“It’s clear that there are anomalies in the 2020 election results that deserve to be fully explored,” Lamon wrote in a tweet on July 16. 

Despite efforts by Trump and his allies to cast doubt on his loss, experts and officials have repeatedly concluded there is no evidence of widespread fraud in the election.

Reached via email, Braynard declined to say exactly how much Look Ahead America has received from Lamon.

“His contribution amount is staggered but I won't go into further details about his funding commitment to us.” Braynard wrote in an email to The Uprising. “It will all be reported eventually.” 

Braynard suggested Lamon’s contributions would be detailed in the organization’s 2021 return, which is due next year.

Some experts havesuggested turnout at Saturday’s event could be weak because potential participants are worried law enforcement have infiltrated the event. For his part, Braynard has insisted the rally is “a 100% peaceful event in support of the nonviolent offenders from January 6th who have been charged.”

Over 500 people have been charged in conjunction with violence and vandalism that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 as thousands of people who sought to disrupt the certification of President Biden’s election victory over former President Trump broke into the Senate chamber. Braynard’s group has described those charged as “political prisoners” who were “persecuted by the FBI” and “denied bail by a corrupt judiciary.” He did not respond to emailed questions from The Uprising about whether he believed anyone in the crowd acted inappropriately or violently that day.

Look Ahead America announced Lamon’s “generous contribution” on April 26. At the time, the organization said Lamon’s donation made it “possible” to launch a $2 million program in Arizona. The announcement of the contribution included a statement from Lamon. 

“​​We will not allow these patriots to continue to be ignored by our nation’s ruling establishment that has put corporate, globalists, and special interests ahead [of] them,” Lamon said. 

Braynard asserted that “100% of the funding provided by Lamon is exclusively earmarked for voter registration in Arizona and nothing else.” In the initial announcement of Lamon’s contribution, Look Ahead America said the multimillion dollar effort he made possible would be “an intensive voter registration and community organizing effort” in Arizona. When asked about the fact Look Ahead America declared the contribution supported both voter registration and organizing, Braynard claimed the two were interchangeable. 

“We consider voter registration the #1 most important community organizing activity,” he wrote.  “I like to toute [sic] ‘community organizing’ every chance I get. So it's technically redundant on my part when I say both of them together.” 

Look Ahead America’s work in Arizona has included staging a “#FreePoliticalPrisoners” event in Scottsdale on July 14. The group is also holding one of its official satellite events in conjunction with Saturday’s rally at the U.S. Capitol in Phoenix on September 25. 

According to records posted on an IRS website, Look Ahead America was granted tax exempt nonprofit status in 2018 and that status was revoked in 2020. An IRS spokesperson told The Uprising they could not provide any information about the group beyond what was publicly available on the website. 

Braynard said the organization’s tax exempt status “was initially revoked due to a lack of filing.” Tax exempt nonprofits are required to file a form 990, which is an annual return filed with the IRS that includes detailed financial information. Prior to this year, according to Braynard, Look Ahead America filed a short version of the form for smaller organizations because they “never raised more than $50K.” 

In a video touting the upcoming rallies, Braynard asked for donations to Look Ahead America to make the event at the Capitol possible.

“This event is expensive,” Braynard said of Saturday’s planned rally at the Capitol. “There are a lot of requirements to do an event like this in DC. We expect to have a large stage.” 

And while Lamon has indicated support for the conspiracy theories that fueled discontent over last year’s presidential election, he hasn’t made high profile comments about January 6 — the largest manifestation of that discontent. Indeed, Lamon has positioned himself as something of a law and order candidate. 

On Wednesday evening, Lamon held an event where he accepted the endorsement of the Arizona Police Association and the National Border Patrol Council. Neither of those groups responded to requests for comment about whether they were aware of Lamon’s financial support for Look Ahead America. At the exact same time Lamon was on stage accepting the endorsements from the law enforcement groups, workers in D.C. were installing fencing around the U.S. Capitol to prepare for the group’s rally.

More Stories From The Uprising: 

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• Police Records Refute GOP’s ‘No Firearms’ Claim About January 6 Riot

• PHOTO: Trump Met Man Who Helped Organize ‘Patriot Caravans’ On January 6

• Andrew Yang Presidential Advisers Blame Tusk Strategies For ‘Crashing’ His Mayoral Bid

• President Biden’s ‘Very Strange Decision’ That Could Send Thousands Back In Prison