Witness: Trump wanted to come to the Capitol himself on January 6th

Created: 06/28/2022, 21:14

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Adams County Fairgrounds in Mendon, Illinois.

© Mike Sorensen/Quincy Herald-Whig via AP/dpa

A witness testified in detail about her experience before the investigative committee into the Capitol attack.

She also vividly describes Trump's anger after the election.

According to an ex-employee, the then US President Donald Trump wanted to drive himself to the Capitol on January 6 last year, despite massive security concerns, where Congress was to certify the election of his successor Joe Biden.

Cassidy Hutchinson, then assistant to Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows, said at a public hearing of the investigative committee on the Capitol attack on Tuesday that Trump was not dissuaded by concerns about possible legal consequences.

During the rally in front of the White House on January 6 - immediately before his supporters violently stormed the Capitol - Trump still assumed that he would personally drive to the Capitol, Hutchinson said.

When the president, as he was leaving the rally, was told by his top Secret Service bodyguard that he couldn't go to Congress for security reasons, he was very "angry."

Trump is said to have gripped drivers in the steering wheel

Citing a conversation with a colleague and the responsible Secret Service official immediately after the incident, Hutchinson described that Trump even tried to grab the driver's steering wheel in the armored SUV.

He is said to have said: "I'm the damn president, take me to the Capitol." The bodyguard grabbed his arm to keep him away from the steering wheel, she continued.

Trump used his free arm to fight back.

Trump had goaded his supporters to march to the Capitol during the January 6 rally in front of the White House.

He also said publicly at the time that he too would come.

As a result, there were several reports that Trump actually wanted to come to the Capitol - but so far no confirmation from Trump's leadership circle at the time.

Hutchinson: Trump was aware of potential violence

According to Hutchinson, Trump was aware of the possible violence on January 6, 2021.

Hutchinson said he was aware of guns in the audience before speaking to his supporters that day.

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"I don't care if they have guns - they're not here to hurt me.

You can march to the Capitol from here.

Take away the damn metal detectors," Cassidy quoted Trump as saying.

She claimed to have heard these words from him shortly before his speech.

When a president makes a speech, security personnel require those present to pass through metal detectors.

The committee of inquiry learned from law enforcement reports that participants at the Trump rally had pepper spray, knives, brass knuckles, tasers and blunt objects, said committee vice chair Liz Cheney.

After the election, Trump threw plates of food against the wall in anger

Trump is also said to have thrown a plate of food against the wall in anger over an interview with the then Attorney General for the 2020 presidential election.

Hutchinson left her office in December and went to the White House dining room.

The valet "signaled me to come in and then pointed to the front of the room, near the mantel by the TV, where I first noticed ketchup dripping down the wall," she said.

A broken porcelain plate lay on the floor.

The servant then told her that Trump was so upset about an interview with Attorney General William Barr that he threw his lunch against the wall.

Barr said in the interview that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

dpa