#Wharf Cat Records Pulls Albums by Jeff Zagers Following Trump Rally Posts

Wharf Cat Records has announced plans to remove from its catalog all music by Georgia musician Jeff Zagers, who attended the Trump rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Trip and Doug Warner—the brothers who co-own and co-founded the Greenpoint, Brooklyn label—told Pitchfork that they made the decision after seeing Zagers’ social media posts about attending the rally.

“As a label, we strive to promote equity and inclusivity in our community and do not tolerate voices of hate or acts of violence,” the label’s statement reads. “We would never knowingly work with anyone who supports the events of January 6th or any part of the movement that enacted this attack on the U.S. Capitol, and are actively taking the artist’s releases down.”

According to screenshots from his Instagram account, Zagers posted a Story on January 6 that read, “I was there today.” He wrote about meeting “wonderful people” and claimed the media crafted a “false narrative” about the mob that broke into the U.S. Capitol building. “I know what happened. Ask me.” In another Story, Zagers shared a photo of Richard Barnett, the man who broke into Nancy Pelosi’s office and who now faces multiple criminal counts.

In a statement emailed to Pitchfork and posted on his blog, Zagers confirmed that he attended the Trump rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol. He also confirmed that he was on the stairs and lawn of the Capitol as people stormed the building, but said he “never charged or stormed anything.” In a subsequent email, he added, “I was not there when people initially stormed the building.”

“It was very shocking to see his Instagram Stories where he was very clearly endorsing his participation,” Doug Warner told Pitchfork in a phone interview. “We had absolutely no reason to believe that this is something that would have transpired.”

The Warners said they made the decision to remove Zagers’ catalog without speaking with him. They added that Zagers is “free and clear of any sort of obligations to Wharf Cat,” having released two studio albums via the label. The Warners say that they would not stop Zagers from redistributing his music through other channels.

In his blog post, Zagers wrote, “I would like to denounce any violence from that day and say that most people there, from all walks of life walked into a trap.” He also wrote, “If what I did was illegal, I am sure the most heavily surveilled city in our nation would have record of that,” and said, “I honestly never felt safer in my life with strength in numbers.” He concluded, “There were families and people from all walks of life there that love Trump.”