Retired General Michael Flynn at the Rod of Iron Festival in Greeley, Pennsylvania, on October 11, 2024, where a showing of the documentary ”Flynn” was held.Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto/AP
President Donald Trump stormed into the Justice Department on Friday to give a speech that news outlets described with a grab-bag of foreboding words, including “bellicose” and “unprecedented.” In the speech, Trump railed at his political opponents, whom he described as “scum” and “thugs,” and falsely claimed, once again, that the 2020 election had been stolen from him.
Seated in the audience was retired General Mike Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, who’s spent a great deal of time pushing both stolen election claims and QAnon-related ideas. (Flynn has distanced himself publicly from QAnon. Two of his family members also sued CNN for a chyron calling them “QAnon followers.” Flynn reportedly called QAnon “total nonsense” in a private conversation with attorney Lin Wood, who released a recording of the call on Telegram.)
Trump singled out Flynn for special praise during his speech; afterward, Flynn’s sister snapped a picture of him posing with FBI director Kash Patel.
The speech, which lasted more than an hour, featured Trump claiming once again that law enforcement agencies had been unfairly weaponized against him. “A corrupt group of hacks and radicals within the ranks of the American government obliterated the trust and goodwill built up over generations,” he declared. “They weaponized the vast powers of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to try and thwart the will of the American people.” He also crowed about stripping security clearances from what he called “the Biden crime family,” and referred to previous elections as “rigged and crooked.”
Flynn’s sister posted a photo of him and Kash Patel afterward, writing, “My 2 Favorite Hero American Giants! Gentlemen, time to Save Our Country, the Kids and take out the Trash while you’re at it!!!”
“I was attacked by a political opponent and probably it helped that I was attacked more than anybody in the history of our country,” Trump also claimed, before adding a bizarre metaphor, comparing his treatment to that of a notorious gangster. “Alphonse Capone, the great Alphonse Capone, legendary Scarface, was attacked only a tiny fraction of what Trump was attacked.”
Trump also specifically praised Flynn, saying, “General Flynn, thank you for being here. Here’s a man who went through hell, by the way, and he shouldn’t have. It was—he’s a patriot, he went through hell.”
Flynn was pardoned by Trump in 2020 after pleading guilty twice to lying to the FBI; since then, he’s turned peddling far-right conspiracy theories into what the New York Times called a “lucrative and sprawling family business” and commands a vast and loyal audience on social media, including Twitter, where his previously banned account was restored in 2023 after Elon Musk took over the company. In October, he claimed that “weather modification operations” controlled by the Department of Defense were “clearly connected” with Hurricane Helene.
Flynn’s sister Mary Flynn O’Neill was present with him for the speech; O’Neill posted a photo of Flynn and Kash Patel afterward, writing, “My 2 Favorite Hero American Giants! Gentlemen, time to Save Our Country, the Kids and take out the Trash while you’re at it!!!” Flynn himself posted on Twitter, in all caps, “A GREAT DAY AT THE DOJ!”
The significance of Flynn’s attendance wasn’t lost on anyone. Republican propagandist and journalistic plagiarist Benny Johnson also posed for a photo with him, tweeting, “The last time General Flynn was in the DOJ the demons running this building had him in handcuffs and were preparing to end his life. Now, Flynn returns as a free man, totally vindicated, a conqueror. What man intends for evil, God intends for good!”
