Below are excerpts of a Jan. 19 interview with Ben Pollock. Two of his children, Jonny and Olivia, along with a family friend, Joseph Hutchinson, face charges in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol Building. They were arrested at a Florida ranch on Jan. 6, 2024, after eluding the FBI.
I spoke to Ben Pollock at his home in Kathleen, Florida. I also met his mother, Nell, 85, who read letters she received from Olivia in prison.
I asked Ben Pollock to take me through the day that Jonny, Olivia and Joey were arrested.
“Roughly 12:30 in the morning, I get a call from Jonny and says ‘They got us.’ It was a call we were always dreading, you know, that they caught up with them. And it was like I was saying before I said they weren’t scared to go in. They just felt the whole time like, somebody needs to stand against the corruption that’s going on in America. And unfortunately, most of America doesn’t understand that. But those young people did and they’re taking the beating for it now. They got them in isolation.
“They didn’t just go in, you know, throwing the grenades and things like they did at the house. They gave them a chance to surrender. And so that’s one thing to be grateful for.
“When they have a young man that’s never been in trouble and like I say, and we’ve been over this before, I said children that, you know, have gotten speeding tickets and paid them and, and that’s the kind of the only trouble they’ve ever been in, in their lives.
“They marched peacefully down to the Capitol where they were invited by the president. It broke their hearts that their government was the ones that were attacking them and attacking others and hurting other American people. And so it just was more than they can bear, more than I could bear.”
Pollock told me that Jonny, Olivia and Joey told him they had “some of the best times in their life” while hiding out from the FBI.
“You know, they got to read through the Bible. They got time alone with God. God prepared them for this time. You know, preparing them for solitary because that’s more or less the worst thing you can do to a man that’s active is put them in a box and leave them for hours on end, days on end. And that’s what they’re experiencing now. And it’s heartbreaking. It’s just torture. It’s not right. God never intended that kind of punishment on man for for any crime.”
Pollock said the three defendants have not expressed any regrets.
“Oh, no. Like I’ve always said, we would do it all over again. America has to stand against this kind of corruption. You know, we don’t have a vote. We were there because we didn’t have a vote, and all we were asking (Mike) Pence to do was just hold it up and look at the evidence. And and unfortunately, the politicians will not do that. They do not want to look at the evidence they have on on January 6th. It’s like our presidents said all along. The coup was on November 3rd. And if it’s a coup, why are the ones pointing out the coup in prison? You know, why did they have to shut us up? Because they do not want to look at the evidence. We’re going into another election, and they’re going to do something to to interrupt it because they do not want President Trump as a president. They want to they want to bring down America.
“I was born in 1962, the year they took Bible out of the school. These children were trained and at home because they had taken the Bible out of school. They took prayer out of school in ‘62. They took the Bible out in ‘63. I didn’t know that at the time, but I grew up under the influence of it. And so I do remember this in ‘73, the fuel crisis. And then I remember the old timers telling me to save my quarters, save the old money because it was pure and and Tracey, that’s why my children can go through what this is because they’re pure. They have the purity of Christ inside them. When you used to drop a quarter in the dirt, it would last. Today you drop a quarter in the dirt and you can’t recognize it in a few years. But you can go back and find the old coins because they’re pure. You know, Shadrach and Meshack walked through the fire because they had the purity of God. They had God in their heart. And that’s where my children are walking. And like I said before, I’m more worried about the country because we are at the end of Romans I. We’re being judged.
“All law comes from God. He created us. He knows what we need, and the whole world needs to live under the Ten Commandments. Living under the law of love, where love your neighbor as yourself. And if you do that, you’re going to obey the Ten Commandments. And so that’s how these children were raised. That’s why they are so passionate about going through the suffering that they’re going through. We’re at a point where there is no justice in the justice system.”
Pollock said the three defendants exercises while on the lam, and Joey Hutchinson lost a tremendous amount of weight.
“Joey went in at 400 pounds and you’re talking about a movie. Yeah. This young man’s 250 pounds. He lost 150 pounds while he was there. He’s in the best shape of his life and he’s spiritually in the best shape he’s ever been. It’s amazing.
“I’m so proud. What dad would be proud of their children sitting in federal prison or facing what they’re facing. You know, they literally read off Johnny’s charges in the courtroom. And here’s my 80-year-old mom just proud as can be of her grandchildren. And here’s my wife just sitting there listening to the rhetoric coming from the courts. And then they’ll use this against them. And of what? They’re all accused of and just how evil they are and how they can’t be trusted, and how they’re a menace to society. And yet there wasn’t a crime committed the whole time they were on the run that they can point to them. There’s not anything they can look at that says that these young people are a threat to anybody except injustice. And that’s why they’ve got to keep them locked up. That’s why. Because they know how unpure this country has turned.
“And in Romans and like I say, Romans I, when salt has lost its savor, it’s henceforth good for nothing but cast out and trodden under foot of man. That’s why I’m so worried about the country, because we are at the end of Romans I. You know, when you have teachers teaching children that they’re not boys or girls and they’re mutilating their bodies and ruining their bodies. This is the essence of why God has to bring America down our will. I mean, we’re seeing the results of it. It’s not Joe Biden. It’s not the FBI, it’s not the Marshal Service. God’s allowing these things to show us a cause and effect. You turn from me, you take God out of my wisdom. The only wisdom giver is God. There is no wisdom but God. And so when we when we rejected that, we reaped a whirlwind.”
Pollock said Jonny, Olivia and Joey face “an uphill battle” in court.
“I’ve seen families spend $500,000, $300,000, $400,000 on lawyers. I’m sure there’s cases where they spent more. I’m just not aware of it. And it’s just been money wasted. And we don’t have the money for a good lawyer.”
He said he would be open to “a good lawyer out there that wants to fight this through the Constitution.”
“But we’re not looking for a lawyer that’s just going to try to get them off and take the punishment that this organization is ready to give them because character matters more… We want to stand for truth. You know, the truth. Truth will set us free.”
(The Pollock family is raising money for commissary and other expenses their children may have at GiveSendGo. See campaign here).
Asked if he thinks the federal government will continue to pursue your family, Pollock said, “You know, they said there’s going to be more than 3,000 arrested from the January 6th. So, you know, yeah, I’m looking over my shoulder. But I’m in God’s hands.”
“I’m proud of my kids, and they’re not wanting to take their day back either. And they they love this country and and but like I was saying about the flag being flown upside down, people don’t understand. That’s a message. That’s when your house has been destroyed, when you’re fearful for your life, when you got guns aimed at your chest. It’s a dangerous situation. And they’re doing thousands of Americans that way, and it’s not right.”
Pollock said while Donald Trump isn’t his “savior,” he strongly supports the former president.
“We can unite under the Constitution. The Constitution was a God gift to to all mankind. And finally, a man stood up as a president and stood up and pointed out the atrocities that are happening in America.
“We have to stand behind him, not that he’s our savior. By no means. The Lord Jesus Christ is my Savior. But God allowed him to be here at this time.”
Pollock described a dinner he and other J6 activists had with Trump last year at Mar-A-Lago.
“I did get to tell you about going down to Mar-a-Lago and hearing from him firsthand that he was going to pardon the January 6th people.”
“I was down with the Patriot Freedom Project, which is a great organization that was was ministering to the families that were losing their homes. And President Trump was just so gracious. He said when he heard about it and heard we were down there in his part of the town. He said, I want them here at Mar-a-Lago. And by a miracle here, this country boys gets invited into the into the closest place to the wedding supper of the lamb that I’ll ever get to here on earth. You know, he’s not a king, but he is the leader of the free world. And and I’m sitting at his dinner table and he comes up and I get to put my hand on him. The security just grabs me immediately and I ask him, I said, ‘Mr. President, can I pray for you?’ And I got to to pray for him for protection. And I just thanked him for what he was doing for us. And I know he’ll do the right thing and pardon the January 6th people or, and maybe even put a medal on them, because that’s why my view of what I think of the January 6th people.
“I just want to thank President Trump. I just love him. And I just pray for his safety because he’s under attack.”
While at Mar-a-Lago, Pollock said he and other activists sang the national anthem.
“And then I screamed out ‘Freedom!’ And it was just such a glorious night. It was just amazing. And I do want to see freedom for America. I do want to live under a constitutional republic because it is my birthright. I understand about yielding your rights as a Christian, but these Christians that are just sitting on the sideline, you’re going to get to heaven and you’re your works are going to be burned up because, you know, God’s got you in this battle, you know, for righteousness. And you need to stand up like a man.”