Five Years After Jan 6: Inside 'Homegrown' Documentary on Proud Boys & American Extremism

It's wild to think it's been five years since that chaotic day when the Capitol was stormed. Back in 2021, it felt like watching a movie unfold in real-time, but nope, that was our reality. Now in 2026, with Trump back in office for his second non-consecutive term, Michael Premo's documentary Homegrown feels both eerily relevant and strangely dated. The film dives deep into the lives of Proud Boys members in the weeks leading up to the 2021 election and the subsequent "Stop the Steal" madness. Honestly, after watching it, I'm left with more questions than answers about where this country is headed.

🎥 The Main Characters: Thad vs. Chris

The documentary mainly follows two guys who couldn't be more different, yet ended up in the same hate group:

Thad is honestly the most fascinating part of this whole documentary. Like, here's a guy who genuinely seems to believe in finding common ground with liberals and even collaborated with Jacarri Kelley from Northern Utah Black Lives Matter. The Proud Boys kicked him out for that, which is peak irony. The film shows endless debates within the organization about who they should align with - one minute they're saying "we're not white supremacists," and the next someone's arguing they should include Nazis. Make it make sense!

🤯 The Mind-Bending Hypocrisy

What really gets me is the cognitive dissonance on display:

• Complaining about left-wing violence while clutching AR-15s and discussing guerrilla warfare against the government

• Expressing sympathy for George Floyd's murder followed by Quaglin saying "90% of police shootings are justified"

• Chanting "we are western chauvinists/we refuse to apologize for creating the modern world" - like, what does that even mean in 2026?

The film shows these guys talking about "traditional family values" as a cover for racism, sexism, and xenophobia. It's all so transparent, yet somehow effective at recruiting people who feel left behind by the system.

💰 The Real Roots: Economic Anxiety Weaponized

Here's where Homegrown actually delivers some real insight. Both Cisneros and Quaglin's anger stems from legit economic issues:

• Financial insecurity that's only gotten worse since 2021

• Wealth divide between the privileged and working classes

• Dissolution of the working class identity

But instead of directing that anger at financial institutions or corporate greed, the Proud Boys channel it toward:

1. Black communities

2. LGBTQIA+ populations

3. Immigrants of all backgrounds

The craziest revelation? Cisneros found his way to the far right after watching Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11! Like, how does that even happen? It shows how easily legitimate frustration can be rerouted into bigotry.

😬 Spending Time with Quaglin: A Test of Patience

Watching nearly two hours of Quaglin and his comrades is... exhausting. The documentary gives us intimate access, but to what end? Quaglin isn't particularly eloquent, doesn't have an official position in the organization, and never seems to learn his lesson - even after his wife files for divorce post-prison.

Some lowlights from his segments:

• Owns "an army's worth of weapons"

• Uses BLM and ANTIFA as "catch-all boogeymen"

• Went to Jan 6 despite his wife being 8.5 months pregnant

• Makes reprehensible decisions to ingratiate himself to the Proud Boys

There's just not much "there" there, as the saying goes. Being exposed to his thought process doesn't really help understand the movement - it just shows how empty the ideology really is.

❓ The Unanswered Questions

The documentary leaves us with some heavy questions that feel even more pressing in 2026:

What the film shows:

• Homegrown terrorists aren't new

• Economic anxiety fuels extremism

• Organizations like Proud Boys weaponize legitimate grievances

What the film doesn't answer:

• How do we actually weed out these ideologies?

• What systemic changes would address the root causes?

• Where does the country go from here?

The title suggests these are "homegrown" terrorists, but that's not exactly breaking news in 2026. What's more concerning is how these movements have evolved and adapted in the past five years.

🎬 Documentary Details & Final Thoughts

Quick facts:

• Release Date: September 13, 2024

• Runtime: 109 minutes

• Director: Michael Premo

• My Rating: 6/10 - Interesting but incomplete

Look, Homegrown has its moments of genuine insight, especially when focusing on Thad's complicated journey. But a lot of it feels like rehashing conversations we've been having since 2021. The documentary's timing is weird too - coming out in 2024 but feeling dated by 2026 standards.

What's missing is any real analysis of how these movements have changed in Trump's second term. Are they more organized? Less? Have they gained mainstream acceptance? The film doesn't touch on any of that.

At the end of the day, Homegrown works best as a time capsule of a specific moment in American extremism. But in 2026, with political tensions higher than ever, we need documentaries that look forward, not just backward. We need answers about how to heal these divisions, not just more footage of the divisions themselves.

TL;DR: Homegrown gives us a peek inside the Proud Boys but doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. The economic roots of extremism are clear, but the solutions remain elusive. Five years after Jan 6, we're still asking the same questions with few answers in sight.