[1][2][3] The rally was an extension of the Second Amendment sanctuary movement and was organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

[4] The 2020 rally received international attention and a greater turnout than previous years because a Democratic majority in both the Virginia House of Delegates and state Senate was elected in 2019, alongside incumbent Democratic governor Ralph Northam, along with fears of the passage of pending, stringent gun control legislation.

[9] Three members, including two US citizens and one Canadian national, of the neo-Nazi group The Base—of which were hostile to the beliefs of the protesters—were arrested in Maryland by the FBI days before the event and charged with harboring illegal aliens, unlawful possession and interstate transportation of a machine gun with intent to commit a felony, and, for the Canadian national, being an alien in possession of firearms and ammunition.

[10][11] Although initial reporting on the arrest of the three neo-Nazis implied a connection to the VCDL rally,[12][13] neither press release[14] from the US Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland nor the court documents from the prosecution of the arrested neo-Nazis[11][15] stated they planned to attend the rally.

The group hoped that the rally would kickstart a second civil war, which would culminate with a neo-Nazi coup of the United States Government.