Trump’s crowds don’t want to move on from Jan. 6. They want retribution for him.

MASON CITY, Iowa — Donning a red puffer coat and a “Make America Great Again” hat, Barbara LaGow smoked a cigarette while waiting in a long line on a cold night to hear Donald Trump speak.

The 58-year-old had driven more than two hours from Minnesota on Friday to come to the former president’s rally at the North Iowa Events Center. But it was worth it, she said. Trump was “cheated out of the last election.” She wanted to show support for him ahead of the coming one.

Trump’s swing through Iowa marked the unofficial start of his final caucus sprint. But there was a broader, more meaningful backdrop to Friday’s event, one underscored by LaGow’s comments.

The former president was delivering remarks on the eve of the three year anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection that he helped instigate before leaving office. For a short while, that day seemed as if it might be his final political chapter, a transgression that Republicans would simply not tolerate. Instead, for LaGow and others here to watch Trump, it became a source of sympathy for the man.

“There was no insurrection. I believe he’s being framed. I really don’t believe he did anything he shouldn’t have done. He asked people to go peacefully protest. And that was it,” she said. “I believe the FBI did have something to do with it … The whole thing just smacks. It smells bad.”

LaGow is part of a significant swath of the Republican electorate who believes that Jan. 6 was likely part of an effort to politically harm Trump. A recent Washington Post-UMD poll found 34 percent of Republicans falsely believe the FBI organized the Capitol attack.

Not all of Trump’s supporters in Iowa were willing to go quite so far as to excuse the rioters. But none said they believed Trump