The most famous men in country music have – generally – held their tongues over the crowd that invaded the United States Capitol on January 6. But that silence did not extend to their spouses.
Brittany Aldean – social media influencer and wife of Jason Aldean – is among those who shared her ideas on Instagram. This included republishing an image falsely claiming that two men in the group were in fact supporters of the antifa.
Five people, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, died as a result of shocking crowd violence by President Trump’s supporters, fueled by Trump’s baseless allegations that the November presidential election was stolen from him.
The image shared by Aldean was part of a disinformation campaign that emerged when the disturbing images of the Capitol caused revulsion across the country. The antifa protester’s claim was considered “unfounded” by the Associated Press, which said there was “no evidence” that the violent protesters who invaded the Capitol were supporters of far-left militant groups.
XRVision, a facial recognition service cited in unmasked reports about the antifa claim, issued a statement to BuzzFeed News saying that the company’s software actually identified two members of neo-Nazi organizations and a QAnon supporter among the pro-Trump crowd – non-members antifa.
Instagram removed the image from Aldean’s feed hours after it was posted.
In response, Brittany Aldean posted a video to her 1.8 million followers on Instagram. “The filters you put on everyone who goes against your narrative are getting ridiculous,” she said.
Also on January 6, the day of the uprising, Brittney Kelley – wife of Brian Kelley, of the Florida Georgia Line – expressed her support for the “patriots who fight for our freedom every day” on the platform next to a photo of her flying an American flag on Ford Bronco convertible of the couple driven by its famous husband.
After many of her followers expressed concern that she was supporting the takeover of the Capitol, Kelley edited her post, replacing “patriots” with “people”.
Country star Maren Morris, without naming names, also tweeted, “… how the wives of some singers conveniently don’t know the difference between marching for racial injustice and the Nazis violating our Capitol because their guy didn’t win?”
“I don’t believe in violence, or mobs / services rioting or robbing buildings. I don’t believe that ‘patriots’ are the people who invade the building, ”wrote Kelley in a subsequent post.
“I was taught to defend what you believe is right. Holding the American flag and calling for God’s peace is not a way of expressing the ‘side’ of which I am, ”she wrote.
In the past few days, both have shifted their focus to promoting tolerance and questioning their critics – especially after a story was published by Rolling Stone detailing their posts. His steps back came as police and elected officials prepared for the potential for more violence in the United States.
In the days that followed the insurrection, groups that track extremist right-wing organizations said violent preparations were underway. The FBI warned of possible armed protests in buildings in state capitals beginning January 17 and during the inauguration, an official with knowledge of a bulletin told USA TODAY.
Aldean sees the reaction against her as unjustified. “Everything I say is blown up and made into a ‘story’,” Aldean complained on Instagram on Sunday.
“Apparently, freedom of speech does not apply to everyone and that is my problem. I have AWESOME conversations with my liberal friends and we can agree to disagree. They are the people who are not willing to listen to you, my dear (expletive).
In addition to his criticisms of the removal, Aldean said nothing more about the “antifa” image she shared.
Also on Sunday, Kelley shared an image with the text: “Can you imagine if we didn’t limit our love to those who are like us?”
“For you, who are reading this, I am choosing to respect and love you, no matter what your beliefs,” she wrote. “… I encourage you, no matter what your belief system, to help spread love and respect for everyone you come into contact with, because our world and future depend on it.”
Contributing: Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared in Nashville Tennessean: Brittany Aldean, Brittney Kelley attract fire by Capitol riot messages