Dems probe Jan. 6 rally contractor’s role in Freedom 250 planning

WASHINGTON – Top Democrats are investigating the Trump administration’s hiring of a contractor tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, Ellipse rally to plan the nation’s 250th anniversary. 

In a letter sent June 17 and obtained by USA TODAY, Sens. Adam Schiff, Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Peter Welch allege that the Trump administration subverted traditional procedures and used loopholes to award Event Strategies Inc. millions of dollars in contracts related to the 250th anniversary.  

The company managed the Jan. 6 rally on the Ellipse in which the president urged his supporters to march to the Capital, where they later shattered windows, broke in and attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

Event Strategies, aka ESI, has received more than $7 million in low-competition federal contracts related to the country's anniversary and more than $22 million total in contracts since Trump’s second term began in January 2025, according to the lawmakers.  

Before Trump’s second term, the lawmakers say Event Strategies was “a relatively unknown federal contractor.” It received less than $4 million in federal contracts between 2008 and 2021, according to federal spending data.  

“This raises obvious concerns that conflicts of interest and corruption within the White House are driving federal contract awards towards politically connected firms,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.  

They’re requesting detailed information on the administration’s practices for awarding federal contracts and its guardrails for preventing conflicts of interest. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The bulk of Event Strategies' federal contracts have been awarded since Justin Caporale, the company’s former CEO, was appointed executive producer for major events and public appearances in the Executive Office of the President.  

Caporale was a project manager for the Jan. 6, 2021, March to Save America rally. Trump credited Caporale with producing some of his 2024 campaign’s biggest spectacles, including his Madison Square Garden rally and a McDonald’s campaign photo op in which Trump briefly worked behind the counter.  

The Democratic lawmakers allege that the Trump administration has “allowed ESI to exploit contracting loopholes to guarantee valuable awards” because of the close relationship.  

“ESI was often one of a handful – and often the only – bidder for many contracts they have acquired under the Trump Administration,” the lawmakers wrote.  

On multiple occasions, they say, the Navy has bypassed regulations requiring it to seek competitive bids by alleging only a limited number of specialized vendors could do the job. One of those contracts, the lawmakers say, was a $1 million award for a “backyard cookout and performance” in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to celebrate the service’s 250th birthday. 

“The notion that ESI is the only firm capable of a backyard cookout and performance strains credulity,” they wrote.  

Event Strategies also helped plan the Army’s 250th anniversary parade last year.  

Freedom 250, a quasi-governmental nonprofit Trump created to carry out his vision for the milestone, hired the Northern Virginia-based company earlier in the year to oversee logistics for its programming, including the Great American State Fair and the massive July 4 festivities planned on the National Mall.  

Karissa Waddick covers America's 250th anniversary for USA TODAY. She can be reached at [email protected].

(This story has been updated with new information.)