1776 Returns
1776 Returns was the title of a PDF document circulated among the Proud Boys organization. The nine-page document was sent to Enrique Tarrio, Chairman of the Proud Boys, by an unnamed "female acquaintance". A plan for the occupation of 8 key buildings in the District of Columbia on January 6 was laid out. This included House and Senate office buildings and the Supreme Court. The plan called for the mass-mobilization of followers, invoking the sentiments of 1776 and the 1917 storming of the Winter Palace by Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution.
A five-stage plan was formulated for protesters to:
1776 Returns recommended groups of 50 to occupy government buildings and conduct sit-ins, suggesting slogans to chant. A section titled the "Patriot Plan" was intended for public distribution, calling on people to gather around 1pm and wait for a signal to commence the prepared attacks. The target locations were the Russell Senate Office Building, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hart Senate Office Building, US Supreme Court Building, Cannon House Office Building, Longworth House Office Building, Rayburn House Office Building, and the DC office building of news channel CNN.
"Special mentions" included warnings to Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Mike Pence, and Bill Gates as well as praise of Rand Paul and Ron DeSantis. Though the Capitol Building is not mentioned by name, the final page of the document is a Google Maps screenshot of the Capitol and surrounding targeted buildings in the United States Capitol Complex.
See also
- Shays' Rebellion – 1786-1787 uprising due to taxation in which courthouses were occupied and shut down
- The Black Book – 1940 document of anti-Nazi individuals and institutions of the United Kingdom to be targeted during a planned German invasion
- Operation Valkyrie – 1944 planned occupation of government and civilian buildings in Berlin and East Prussia following an anti-Nazi coup
- Wounded Knee Occupation – 1973 armed standoff in the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota; courthouse occupied
- The Turner Diaries – 1978 white-supremacist novel detailing an overthrow of the US federal government, including strategic attacks on specific buildings
- Euromaidan regional state administration occupations – 2014 series of government building occupations in Ukraine
- Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge – 2016 occupation of federal property by far-right extremists
- United States Capitol attack – 2021 storming of the Capitol Building