January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol

“ Of course, President Trump is also responsible for recruiting tens of thousands of his supporters to Washington for January 6th, and knowing they were angry and some were armed, instructing them to march to the Capitol and "fight like hell." ”

“ Trump Admitted He Bears Some Responsibility for the January 6 Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol,” ed. Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin, ThisWillNotPass.com, (Jan. 11, 2021) , available at https://www.thiswillnotpass.com/bookresources; Melanie Zanona, “New Audio Reveals McCarthy said Trump Admitted Bearing Some Responsibility for Capitol Attack,” CNN (April 22, 2022) , available at https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/22/politics/trump-january-6-responsibility-book/index.html. ”

“ The President of the United States inciting a mob to march on the Capitol and impede the work of Congress is not a scenario our intelligence and law enforcement communities envisioned for this country. Prior to January 6th, it was unimaginable. ”

“ As January 6th drew closer, multiple posts on the QAnon-linked website 8kun indicated that violence was imminent. "You can go to Washington on Jan 6 and help storm the Capitol," one user wrote. This same user continued: "As many Patriots as can be. We will storm the government buildings, kill cops, kill security guards, kill federal employees and agents, and demand a recount." ”

“ Within an hour, she was advised by her staff that " [t] here is no talk about any credible threats or storming the Capitol." That same day, representatives from DHS, FBI, HSEMA, Secret Service, DC Police, and Capitol Police shared notice of a website, Red State Secession, that urged its visitors to post the home and work addresses of Democratic Members of Congress and “political enemies” under the title, “Why the Second American Revolution Starts Jan 6.” [39] It asked for their routes to and from the January 6th congressional certification because “the crowd will be looking for enemies.” ”

“ These are people who want to take America backward, not toward some imagined prior greatness, but toward repression. These are people who want to roll back what we've accomplished. I believe that those who aligned with the scheme to overturn the election heeded Donald Trump's call to march on the Capitol because they thought taking up Donald Trump's cause was a way to advance their vile ambitions. ”

“ Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers' founder, felt that "the time for peaceful protest is over" after December 19th and, according to the government, "urged President Trump to use military force to stop the lawful transfer of presidential power, describing January 6, 2021, as "a hard constitutional deadline" to do so. [343] Rhodes created a "an invitation-only Signal group chat titled, 'DC OP: Jan 6 21'" on December 30, 2020, which he and other Oath Keepers, like Meggs and James, used to plan for January 6th, including by creating a "quick reaction force" of firearms to be stashed in Virginia. ”

“ Some demonstrated their inspiration for January 6th by circulating flyers, which proclaimed "#OccupyCongress" over images of the United States Capitol. [327] Robert Gieswein, a Coloradan affiliated with Three Percenters who was among the first to breach the Capitol, said that he came to Washington, DC "to keep President Trump in." ”

“ Assistant Director Farnam, USCP intelligence unit, warned that Congress would be the target on January 6th. She noted that a “sense of desperation and disappointment may lead to more of an incentive to become violent. Unlike previous post-election protests, Congress itself is the target on the 6th.” [44] The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, remembers Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist expressing a similar view based on the social media traffic in early January 2021: “Norquist says . . . [t] he greatest threat is a direct assault on the Capitol. ”

“ In fact, none of these groups was involved to any material extent with the attack on the Capitol on January 6th.
That said, certain witnesses testified that they believed that there would be violence with Antifa or similar counter protest groups. President Trump’s National Security Advisor, Robert O’Brien, said the White House saw a risk of violence from counter-protesters. ”

“ Between the election and January 6th, the Trump Campaign sent out hundreds of emails urging President Trump's supporters to "fight the Liberal MOB" and "join the Trump army." Users on the same extreme social media platforms used to plan the attack on the Capitol repeatedly shared the "Official Election Defense Fund" donation links in the week following election day. ”

“ Few in law enforcement predicted the full extent of the violence at the Capitol, or that the President of the United States would incite a mob attack on the Capitol, that he would send them to stop the joint session knowing they were armed and dangerous, that he would further incite them against his own vice President while the attack was underway, or that he would do nothing to stop the assault for hours. ”

“ As with the Oath Keepers, many Three Percenters have turned against the U.S. Government, such that they equate it with the British monarchy and believe it should be overthrown. [275] The movement does not have one, centralized hierarchy. Instead, semi-autonomous branches organize and run themselves. [276] The Three Percenter cause was growing prior to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Jeremy Liggett, a militia leader in Florida, told the Select Committee it was "trendy" in far-right circles to identify with the Three Percenter movement in the months leading up to January 6th. ”

“ That evening, the House passed the legislation to establish a National Commission to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol Complex in a bipartisan fashion, with 35 Republicans joining 217 Democrats voting in favor and 175 Republicans voting against. ”

“ As the Capitol Police rushed Members of Congress and staff to safety, that simple and, in context, sensible warning stuck with me. On January 6, 2021, my colleagues and I came to work with the intent of fulfilling our oaths of office and constitutional duty to carry out the peaceful transfer of power. We were the people's representatives in the people's House doing the people's business. Sadly, on that day, the danger was too great for our work to continue and for us to remain in the Capitol. It was too dangerous to be identified as a representative of the American people. ”

“ The white nationalist Groypers were present as their leader gave an inflammatory speech from the same Peace Circle where the attack was launched. Like members of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and Three Percenters, some of the Groypers have been charged for their actions on January 6th. ”

“ This task is unending because democracy can be fragile and our institutions do not defend themselves.
The history of our time will show that the bravery of a handful of Americans, doing their duty, saved us from an even more grave Constitutional crisis. Elected officials, election workers, and public servants stood against Donald Trump's corrupt pressure. ”

“ Unaffiliated Americans enraged by President Trump's lies rioted as well. The January 6th, attack has often been described as a riot—and that is partly true. Some of those who trespassed on the Capitol's grounds or entered the building did not plan to do so beforehand. But it is also true that extremists, conspiracy theorists and others were prepared to fight. ”

“ Jones added: "It’s literally in our hands. It’s literally up to us." [83]
Other InfoWars hosts promoted the "wild" protest as well. In late December, Matt Bracken told InfoWars viewers that it may be necessary to storm the U.S. Capitol. "We're going to only be saved by millions of Americans moving to Washington, occupying the entire area, if—if necessary storming right into the Capitol," Bracken said. "You know, they're—we know the rules of engagement. If you have enough people, you can push down any kind of a fence or a wall." ”

“ Civilians also tipped off Capitol Police about people bringing weapons to besiege the Capitol. One tipster, who had "track [ed] online far right extremism for years," emailed Capitol Police warning "I've seen countless tweets from Trump supporters saying they will be armed," and "I ['] ve also seen tweets from people organizing to 'storm the Capitol' on January 6th." ”

“ Trump said It's gonna be wild!!!!!!! It's gonna be wild!!!!!!! He wants us to make it WILD that's what he's saying. He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!! Sir Yes Sir!!! Gentlemen we are heading to DC pack your shit!! ”