Jan. 6 ‘prison’ exhibit at CPAC causes stir

An exhibit dedicated to those who have faced criminal prosecution stemming from the January 6 Capitol riots created a stir at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this weekend in Texas.

The set inside the Hilton Anatole in Dallas featured a mock prison cell complete with a live action model prisoner who sat barefoot in an orange jumpsuit crying.

At one point, headsets were distributed to viewers which played harrowing courtroom testimony from Jan 6 defendants.

“It’s stunning really,” Michael Lovorn, 50, Dean of School of Education at St. Mary’s University in Minnesota, who said he found the exhibit to be “compelling.”

The exhibit organizer — who also played the role of the prisoner — was Brandon Straka. The one-time New York City hair stylist rebranded as a pro-Trump activist and founder of nonprofit Walk Away Foundation which encourages people to leave the Democratic party.

The exhibition was organized by Brandon Straka, who also plays the "prisoner." — The exhibition was organized by Brandon Straka, who also plays the “prisoner.”

Straka recently pled guilty and received probation for his own role in the Jan. 6 riot.

One passerby found the exhibition "compelling." — One passerby found the exhibition “compelling.”

An attendee poses merrily in the cell display.

Straka himself plead guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct for his participation on Jan. 6 and was sentenced to three years probation and a $5,000 fine.