Stand In The Gap Foundation; Justin Merriman/Getty Images
If the indefinitely postponed J6 Awards Gala ever happens, one very special attendee will be in for a treat.
The event organizers say it will auction off a "Platinum plaque" to commemorate the musical collaboration between former President Donald Trump and the J6 Prison Choir, a group of 20 people incarcerated in a Washington, DC, jail and accused of participating in the January 6, 2021 attempted insurrection.
According to the gala website, the plaque celebrates the "Platinum status" achieved by the song, "Justice for All," which features accused rioters singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" intercut with the 2024 Republican presidential candidate reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
"This unique and exclusive item is a signed custom Platinum Plaque commemorating the 'Justice for All' song featuring President Trump and twenty January 6th defendants," the website says. "The plaque celebrates the powerful collaboration that achieved platinum status, symbolizing the courage and resilience of those involved."
"Released on March 3, 2023, this song quickly went Platinum, thanks to your unwavering support," the website says.
There's just one problem: The song never went platinum.
In music industry lingo, metallurgic and geological designations refer to certifications granted by the Recording Industry Association of America.
For a single to achieve gold certification, it needs to sell 500,000 units. To go platinum, it needs 1 million sales. Songs that can prove they received 10 million sales can get diamond certification.
But "Justice For All" does not have platinum certification. The RIAA website that catalogs gold and platinum-certified songs does not include any music from Donald Trump nor from the J6 Prison Choir.
"According to our records, the title is not yet close to Gold certification," Erin Burr, an RIAA executive overseeing the certification program, told Business Insider in an email.
Stand In the Gap Foundation
Two songs about Trump's wealth, however, have achieved RIAA certification. 2011's "Donald Trump" by Mac Miller — who later feuded with Trump over the lyrics and called him a "delusional waste of skin and bones" — went platinum. "Up Like Trump," a 2018 song by Rae Sremmurd, has gold certification.
To be sure, "Justice for All" has achieved some success. An image of the plaque included on the event website correctly notes the song charted at No. 1 for weekly digital song sales at one point in March 2023 and reached No 4. on the "Bubbling Under Hot 100," according to Billboard charts reviewed by BI.
While data collected by Billboard can be used to submit songs for RIAA certification status, it isn't involved in the certification process. A representative for Billboard didn't respond to BI's request for comment about the use of its logo in the "Justice For All" plaque.
According to Forbes, "Justice For All" was the brainchild of former Fox New host Ed Henry. Trump made a recording of himself saying the Pledge of Allegiance from his Mar-a-Lago home specifically for the track, while the prison choir sang its portion over a jailhouse phone, according to the Forbes report.
The J6 Awards Gala was originally scheduled to be held Thursday at Trump's Bedminster golf course in New Jersey and raise money for the legal defense of January 6 defendants. Tickets cost between $1,500 and $50,000 and promise access to "J6ers," hors d'oeuvres, and the venue's open bar.
Proceeds from the "Justice For All" plaque auction would "directly support the January 6th defendants and their families" and help "the lives of those who have shown incredible bravery and sacrifice," the website said.
It isn't clear what awards would be distributed at the event, or how organizers would verify if the recipients' accomplishments were real.
Trump has said he would pardon participants of the January 6 riot. He said pardons would be given to people who assaulted police officers "if they're innocent."
While Trump was invited to the event, he was not a confirmed speaker. Rudy Giuliani, his former personal lawyer, and occasional criminal codefendant, was slated to speak, along with former White House official Peter Navarro, who recently completed a prison sentence for refusing to comply with subpoenas from the congressional panel investigating the attack on the Capitol.
Sarah McAbee, who runs the Stand In The Gap foundation sponsoring the gala, said in a text message obtained by the New York Times that it would be delayed until after the November election over "security concerns."
Her husband, former Tennessee sheriff's deputy Ronald McAbee, was sentenced to five years in prison earlier this year for assaulting a law enforcement officer, bringing a weapon with him into the US Capitol, and trying to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election.
At McAbee's sentencing hearing, US District Judge Rudolph Contreras called him "an enraged, violent man" who was "wearing body armor and reinforced gloves spewing expletives" as he attacked one police officer and pulled another into a "crowd of rioters."
"The defendant fits comfortably within the group of rioters that actually attacked law enforcement," Contreras said. "He was part of some of the most violent clashes that day that took place at the archway tunnel at the lower west terrace."
It isn't clear if Ronald McAbee is a member of the J6 Prison Choir. Sarah McAbee didn't respond to requests for comment.
