Committee: Capitol march was Trump's 'deliberate strategy'

Created: 07/12/2022Updated: 07/12/2022 21:43

On January 6, 2021, supporters of the then US President Trump violently stormed the seat of parliament in Washington.

© J. Scott Applewhite/AP/dpa

In the seventh session of the committee of inquiry into the storming of the Capitol, many witnesses have their say.

The hearing is also about a meeting in the White House - and an explosive tweet.

According to the committee of inquiry into the storming of the Capitol in January 2021, then-US President Donald Trump planned the march days earlier - and directly addressed violent right-wing extremists.

"President Trump executed his plan by urging his supporters to (...) march to the Capitol in his Jan. 6 speech," Democratic committee member Stephanie Murphy said at a public hearing on Tuesday.

"The evidence confirms that it was not a spontaneous call to action, but a deliberate strategy decided in advance by the President."

There was information before Jan. 6 that "very violent individuals" were planning to gather in Washington that day, said Donell Harvin, who was then employed by a security agency in the US capital.

It was particularly noteworthy that different groups had formed alliances.

Trump loves people who would "viciously defend him in public," said his former campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson.

Both had testified behind closed doors.

Video excerpts were shown at the hearing.

Tweet with "explosive effect"

According to committee member Jamie Raskin, a Trump tweet on December 19 had an “explosive effect” on the right-wing scene and played a central role in mobilizing them.

A Twitter employee, whose testimony was presented anonymously at the hearing, said: "We had not seen this type of direct communication before." For the first time, a president spoke to extremist organizations and gave them instructions.

On December 19 - after a meeting with employees that witnesses said went awry - Trump tweeted calling for protests: "Big protest in DC on January 6th.

Be there, will be wild!' (roughly: 'Strong protest in DC on Jan. 6. Be there, go wild!') At the hearing, statements by right-wing commentators were played that related to this.

When asked when he decided to go to Washington on Jan. 6, conspiracy theorist Jim Watkins replied: "When the President of the United States announced he was going to hold a rally."

Confidants advised Trump to accept defeat

According to their own statements, several confidants at the time advised Trump to give up after the election he lost in November 2020.

The committee showed video recordings of various witness interviews behind closed doors.

Trump's former Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia, said: "I told him that I think it's time for him to acknowledge that President (Joe) Biden won the election."

Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone made a similar statement.

He was convinced that Trump had to give up.

“There is an opportunity to contest elections.

But the idea that the federal government could confiscate the voting machines - (...) that's a terrible idea.” There have been reports for some time that the White House has been discussing confiscating voting machines to investigate allegations of fraud.

"Being on the losing side doesn't mean you have to be happy about it," said Democratic committee chair Bennie Thompson.

There's a lot you can do then, but you can't become violent.

"What Donald Trump should have done at that moment, which would have been required of any American leader, was to say, 'We did our best, but we didn't make it.' He went the opposite way."

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On January 6, 2021, supporters of the Republican President violently stormed the seat of parliament in the capital Washington.

Congress met there to certify the victory of Trump's Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the presidential election.

The committee is now working on the attack.

To this day, Trump claims without any evidence that he was deprived of another election victory through fraud.

The 76-year-old leaves open whether he wants to run again in the 2024 presidential election.

dpa