Exclusive Interview: Cynthia Hughes Founder of the Patriot Freedom Project and her mission to help her nephew Tim, and the J6 families torn apart in the aftermath of January 6th.

Cynthia Hughes Founder of the Patriot Freedom Project and her mission to help her nephew Tim, and the J6 families torn apart in the aftermath of January 6th.
By Daniel Del Valle

The Blue Magazine’s publisher Daniel Del Valle recently sat down with Cynthia Hughes of the Patriot Freedom Project to have an open and honest discussion on the events and myths surrounding the events that took place at US Capitol on January 6th.

Hughes' mission was started after her nephew Tim and a host of other defendants were being held in a 23 hour per day solitary confinement in a DC jail. Cynthia started the Patriot Freedom Project to help the many people who were arrested in the wake of the January 6 protest. On January 6th, these demonstrators gathered at the Capitol to peacefully protest after what they believed was a fraudulent election.

As you read on you will discover Cynthia’s passion for not only her nephew, Tim, but for the many others and their families who have been torn apart in the aftermath that followed the events of January 6th.

Regardless, if you believe January 6 was a protest or a riot there is no denying the human travesty that followed the events of that fateful day.

The BLUE Magazine: Tell our readers a little bit about how you are attached to January 6th.

Cynthia Hughes: I have a loved one, my adopted nephew, more like my son, he went to the capitol on January 6th and was arrested and treated incredibly unfair in the days that followed that painful day.

For someone who doesn’t have a full understanding of what took place on January 6th, can you describe that day from your perspective for our readers?

January 6th is described in many ways, a protest, a riot or some will say an insurrection. In my opinion January 6th was a 4 or 5-hour protest that got out of hand. Some people did some bad things that day but that’s not the majority. Most were entirely peaceful. January 6th was an important day to many Americans who wanted to go to the Capitol to support their commander in chief and show their gratitude for a President so dearly loved by his supporters. Sadly, there were infiltrators, provocateurs and bad actors embedded in the crowd to make the President look bad.

How did your nephew get caught up in this?

Tim was an entirely peaceful protester that day. He was not charged with any violence or assault but because he was there, he is guilty by association. Tim has great love for President Trump and after a long 12-hour shift at work he made his way to DC, to the ellipse to listen to what he felt was a historic speech made by President Trump. Tim describes the events of that day as harmonious at the ellipse. Trump’s supporters were connected in those moments, hugging and singing, praising the President for his leadership while in office.  As people were making their way to the Capitol you could feel something very sinister happening, I have heard that from many people. There was already chaos unfolding as people were arriving at the Capitol. Tim witnessed a lot of what he describes as police brutality. He said there were a lot of people already hurt, senior citizens, elderly people laying on the ground bleeding.

Do you think Tim got a fair trial?

No way did Tim get a fair trial, none of these defendant’s will, neither will President Trump. Look, Tim did in fact go into the building there is no tippy toeing around that fact and because he did this government egregiously overcharged him for going in looking around, and encouraging others to come in. Tim like many believe there were many inconsistencies in the 2020 election. He was charged with a bogus charge called obstruction of an official proceeding. This charge is basically being used as a way to weaponize our DOJ, it is way for these prosecutors to ask for a serious amount of time in prison and give the judges the pathway to sentence these defendants to many years in prison. Nobody will get a fair trial in the city of DC, it is impossible.

What are your thoughts about January 6th? What do you think happened that day?

I believe something very sinister was taking place long before January 6. I believe that when the President asked his supporters to come and peacefully protest and those that oppose him wanted what happened on January 6th, the powers that be knew exactly what they were doing leading up to the events of that day. President Trump offered to send the national guard multiple times and Speaker Pelosi denied his requests so did the Mayor of DC. I truly believe this could have all been avoided if there wasn’t this constant effort to take out President Trump. You know I feel very strongly those that oppose this President have forgotten about the American people. They cannot do their job effectively because they are truly so governed by hate and bias, it is truly so sad that the democratic party and some republicans refuse to let the people choose. We are in dangerous times in this country.

What did your nephew get charged with?

Tim was charged with felony obstruction of an official proceeding. This charge is used when government documents have been mishandled, altered, destroyed etc. This charge has nothing to do with J6, it is being used in a very weaponized way. This DOJ is saying that J6ers obstructed the electoral vote count and therefore they obstructed an official proceeding. This is a way for the DOJ to charge people with a felony and get substantial prison time. This felony carries a prison term of up to 20 years. This charge is currently up on appeal and hopefully SCOTUS will take this petition up.

Is that the only charge that he had?

Tim was also charged with several misdemeanor charges such as entering or remining in a restricted building or parading or picketing on Capitol grounds. Almost every J6 defendant is charged with the same misdemeanor charges.

What was the recommended sentence for Tim?

Tim was originally offered a plea deal and the government was offering 8 years, we quickly turned that down. He has no criminal history and committed no acts of violence that day so to ask for 8 years was beyond outrageous. Then at sentencing the prosecutors were still asking for 8 years, fortunately for us we had a great lawyer and ultimately Tim was sentenced to 48 months in prison. He is currently serving his time here in NJ.

Do you feel that Tim did anything wrong that day?

I always feel like this is a trick question when I am asked this. Of course, I want to say NO, but I guess you could say if he in fact did do something that day, maybe he trespassed but even that is a stretch. He definitely did not obstruct anything; congress was not even in session when Tim was in the building. Tim did not commit any violence, he did not break anything, he assaulted no one. Tim should be home getting on with his life but instead he is being used as a pawn in a very serious game of political theater by a weaponized department of justice.

So to reiterate and for the record Tim did not assault anyone on January 6th?

Nope!

What would you say to our readers that are not following the events surrounding January 6?

I would say EDUCATE yourselves, don’t jump to conclusions without doing your due diligence. There are almost 1200 people caught up in the events surrounding January 6th and most, the majority were entirely peaceful that day. Many did not even enter the building. Yes, there are some that did really bad things and they should face a jury of their peers which won’t happen in DC by the way. Everyone is entitled to Due Process, and we just do not see that in these cases. I wish the American public would do their homework on these cases and not just blindly follow what the media is saying. If you live in close proximity to DC, go sit in on a trial and see the bias that is obliterating Americans, speak to people like me and get educated about January 6th.

How many people are in jail today for January 6 charges?

There are more than 400 people in jail or prison. Some are still sitting in pretrial detention, which is unacceptable. Some are serving their time. Some are still in jail waiting to be transferred to prison and some are waiting to be sentenced.

What do you want our readers to know about Tim? Can you clear up any pre-misconceptions about Tim?

Tim is a good kid. He doesn’t have a criminal history; he didn’t commit any acts of violence on January 6. He did not assault anyone that day. He helped people who were hurt, bloody and lying on the ground. When he was asked to leave the building, he left. He didn’t go in the chamber or the state rooms, he stayed in the crypt and was skipping around for a few min, he didn’t touch or harm anything or anyone. He didn’t wear a costume that day, he wore a suit and tie and his MAGA hat. Tim’s suit and tie and a flag he found on the ground inside the Capitol were used against him during trial. Tim was entrapped by his own roommate. A roommate he lived with for more than 4 years who is African American set Tim up by wearing a wire. This same roommate that Tim spent four years with, going to the gym, eating out with, podcasting with, loaning money to, the list is long. Tim comes home from the Capitol and shows his roommate some video and the roommate goes to NCIS because they were both in the military and over the course of several days the roommate wore a wire.

Tim has been to hell and back in his life. His parents let him down over and over throughout his life. He was abused mentally, physically, and emotionally. Tim has slight Aspergers, he is incredibly bright and smart. He loves history. He loved serving his country. Is he perfect not at all, he is flawed like the rest of us. He is very bombastic, likes to tell offensive jokes and is a shock jock and loves it. Tim has lived a very hard life and I believe when someone lives a hard life they may turn to drugs or alcohol but not Tim, he is an ardent book reader, he loves to read. He is an incredible artist and poetry writer. This is how Tim copes in life. Sometimes Tim writes and draws or tells a joke that’s not funny to some and be that as it may you don’t jail people for this, and I believe this is the real reason Tim got 48 months in prison. I encourage your readers to go buy our book Due Process Denied The Detained The Families The Fallout and learn more about Tim before anyone jumps to a conclusion. Tim is a good kid with a heart of gold. I don’t know what would have become of this kid if I was not in his life. I have always been the constant in his life. I thank God I was able to be here for him these past 3 years..

How is Tim doing today? How is he coping with this?

Tim is holding his own. He has a lot to deal with when he comes home. He is still incarcerated and has been behind bars for 32 months now, almost 3 years. So, heartbreaking. We hope Tim will be home any day now.

Tell us a little more about Patriot Freedom Project and why you started it? What do you hope to achieve with your organization.

I started PFP after Tim landed in the DC jail. When Tim was arrested, he had a few thousand dollars saved, not a lot but some. He would always cal me and say can you help this one or that one and I finally had to say no, you need this money when you get home. I told him I would figure out some ways to help that he could share with the men he was in jail with. Many of these men are husbands and fathers.  I started looking into some things and talking to different journalists and family members and Tim and I came up with an idea to organize support groups on the outside with family members. It grew rapidly and was gaining some attention and I eventually got a phone call from Dinesh and Debbie D’Souza and they sent us an incredible gift and the Patriot Freedom Project was born. We started doing media appearances and raising more funds. We started helping the families immediately. Many men in the different jails around the country couldn’t provide for their wives and children so we stood in the gap for them and started helping with mortgage and rent payment, utility bills, holiday grants and even helping with cobra payments for families who lost health insurance, and so much more. Additionally, we have helped many defendants with their legal fees, we are assisting many of the lawyers too.

I had a rough upbringing myself and struggled a lot. I believe in paying it forward and I had a lot of good people in my life who helped me at some of the hardest points in my life. I was in a bad marriage, and I know what it’s like to have to figure it all out. I saw a need for so many of these families and just acted. I am a helper; I truly love helping people and seeing others succeed. Its God will. I truly love helping these families and many of them have become family to me.

There is a lot of political persecution happening in this country. We have a complacent mainstream media and without people like you and me talking about these things this country wouldn’t have another perspective to ponder. I hope my organization can become a place to help those struggling to get their voice heard, to assert themselves in this negative political climate we are currently living in. I hope we can continue to help where no help is being given. There is so much sadness in this mess and we have had 4 suicides, we must be a voice for those who cannot find theirs. There needs to be a place of hope and I hope that place will be found at PFP.

Proverbs 19:17: “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done."

President Trump has supported your cause. How did that occur?

In June 2022 I organized a press conference with several members of Congress on Capitol Hill. I also brought in several January 6 families and lawyers. President Trump saw the presser and he had someone reach out to me. I met with him and had a really good and profound meeting with him. I asked him if I could bring some of the families to Bedminster and have a fundraiser and he was very accommodating. President Trump cares very much about the American people. His heart is broken for these families and the defendants, especially the children. He supports our cause because he knows we are doing great work and sees how much we have helped on multiple fronts. President Trump is an extremely charitable man. He cares deeply about what is happening in this country and despite all that he is enduring he still puts that aside and fights for us all, he is that amazing! His heart is so big, he has great love for his supporters and the people of this country. It sickens me what they are doing to this man and his family. I have seen him with his family, and I can tell you the Trump family is full of love and regard for each other they have so much class and elegance, just a profoundly incredible family. They are rock solid despite the nonsense the media wants us to think. And if I may, President Trump is not even slightly responsible for January 6. If anyone went to the Capitol that day and did something bad that is on that person not this President or his family. President Trump does not condone violence against ANYONE ever. He is the President of Law and Order and loves all his first responders. It’s a disgrace what they are doing to this man. May God Bless and Keep President Trump and his family.

What would do you want to achieve with your organization?

Oh, well, I want to raise millions of dollars and I want to have a really successful reentry program. I want to help in the appeals department. I want to make sure we see some of these cases being brought to the Supreme Court. And the biggest thing of all for me is the children. That's the biggest thing of all for me. We can't fail children, right? So we need to make sure that these children know that, OK, your life is hard, this bad thing has happened to you. And these children are suffering and we need to help them.

What do you want to be remembered for and why?

As a good person, a good American, a Patriot. A good wife and mother, a woman of great faith. For my work and good deeds, my efforts. I had a great father to emulate, and I am proud to be his daughter. I learned about this good stewardship from him. My father served this country and was also a police officer in the Garden state. He was a juvenile detective for more than 25 years. He was always bringing kids home who had sad home lives. He was always buying gifts for the kids in our neighborhood, always helping anywhere he could. He was a great organizer and planner. Christmas was a big deal in our home, and he made it a big deal for lots of kids who had nothing. My father was a great man and loved being a police officer. I miss him so much. I know he is always shining a big bright light on me. I know he is proud of me.

Tell our readers how they can help and where they can learn more about your organization.

Please visit either of our websites: PatriotFreedomProject.com or DueProcessDenied.org

You can learn about our work and how you can support us and get involved by visiting the PFP site or you can learn more about our book and docuseries on January 6th and how you can help us crowdsource by visiting dueprocessdenied.org