On January 6, inmate Jeremy Brown ran for the Florida House from prison

Brown then made an announcement that had the crowd cheering.

“Today, January 6, 2022, from the maximum security section of the Pinellas County Jail,” he said, “I, Jeremy Brown, am announcing my candidacy for the Florida State House of Representatives.”

Within months of that speech, he had collected enough signatures to qualify as a candidate and run a long-term campaign for Florida’s District 62 — all from prison. As the only Republican candidate, Brown, who has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial on felony and misdemeanor charges, will run against the winner of the Democratic primary in August. The newly drawn area includes heavily blue areas; about 72.4 percent of voters there chose Biden, according to the Tampa Bay Times, which reported on Brown’s campaign this week.

It’s unclear whether legal issues could hinder Brown’s candidacy or his ability to hold public office while he remains in prison. Attorneys are reviewing the matter, the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections told the Tampa Bay Times.

“We don’t know, the civil service doesn’t know and, frankly, I don’t care,” Brown said in an interview with the newspaper. “I’ll run until they tell me no.” It’s like our government is incompetent.”

His platform and messages carry some of the themes that animated the far right and the assault on the Capitol, with Brown describing a United States under attack by “evil designs” and a corrupt federal government teetering on the edge of tyranny. His website lists priorities such as combating critical race theory and “gender-confusing tactics,” studying whether vaccines cause harm, and pushing for stronger “election security laws.”

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The campaign is based on his status as a defendant since January 6 and a prisoner. His logo features barbed wire and his prison number: 1875858. The shirts sold on his website and worn by the campaign team are designed to look like orange prison scrubs. Brown, who has been in prison since September, calls himself a “political prisoner of war.”

Federal prosecutors noted that he identified himself as a member of the Oath Keepers; the group’s founder and several of its members face charges of sedition. Brown said he expected to be added to the case, although prosecutors told a judge they were not aware of plans to do so “in the near future.”

In late July, he faced two felony charges related to his actions at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Federal prosecutors say he and others coordinated the trip to Washington through the encrypted messaging app Signal, with Brown telling an unidentified person: “We have an RV and a van. Lots of gun ports left to fill. He named his RV “GROUND FORCE ONE”.

Videos and images from Jan. 6 show Brown behind barriers that law enforcement has set up at the Capitol wearing military gear, including a helmet, body armor, boots and a tactical vest, according to a federal court filing. According to court documents, he was carrying a radio, surgical trauma scissors and zip ties and ignored verbal orders to return, complying only when prodded with police batons.

“During this meeting,” the document says, “Brown repeatedly asserted that he believed the officers were violating the United States Constitution.”

A separate lawsuit filed against him in federal court based in Florida lists felony charges of possessing unregistered explosive grenades, firearms, 8,000 rounds of ammunition and classified documents at his home in Tampa. A judge ordered him to remain in custody in that case, saying he could pose a threat to law enforcement officials based on a sign he posted on his door telling them to remember their oaths and return with “a greater tactical package’.

Brown’s campaign declined an interview request from The Washington Post, countering a previous story describing how he and other veterans were lured to the Capitol on Jan. 6 by conspiracy theories and a patriot appeal.

“Jeremy Brown is a true American hero, and the very freedom you enjoy every day is a result of his sacrifices for this country,” his friend Tylene Aldridge said in an email.

In other interviews, Brown claimed to have provided security during the “Stop Theft” rally that preceded the storming of the Capitol. He said he was being targeted in a shadowy government conspiracy after he refused to become a confidential informant in the run-up to January 6. An online fundraising campaign for his defense has raised more than $100,000.

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While Brown remains incarcerated, his campaign has held rallies outside the prison and events featuring a cardboard cutout of him. He gives campaign speeches by phone and has been on the far-right media circuit, occasionally interrupted by a recorded voice counting down the time left. He has raised about $15,800 for the race, records show.

Brown acknowledged in an interview that aired on Rumble, a video site popular among conservatives, that the district is heavily Democratic. He said he’s running not to win, but “to wake up the American people to what’s going on.”

The Democratic primary candidates are state Rep. Michelle Rayner, who currently represents House District 70; Wengei Newton, her predecessor; and Jesse Phillip, attorney. The winner will face Brown in the November general election.