January 6 attack on the United States Capitol

“ 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.” ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Although President Trump and his advisors knew of the risk of violence, and knew specifically that elements of the crowd were angry and some were armed, from intelligence and law enforcement reports that morning, President Trump nevertheless went forward with the rally, and then specifically instructed the crowd to march to the Capitol: "Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated." ”

“ You are an American citizen. Your fucking President told you to do that. You too. You too. You. All of you guys. That Tweet was for you guys. For us. For you." [366]
As January 6th neared, intelligence emerged indicating that January 6th was likely to be violent, and specifically that the Capitol was a target. On January 3rd, an intelligence summary informed Department of Justice officials of plans to "occupy the Capitol" and "invade" the Capitol on January 6th. This summarized a "SITE Intelligence Group" report about the "online rhetoric focused on the 6 Jan event." ”

“ The Proud Boys began to reorient and formalize their operations to focus on January 6th after President Trump's December 19th tweet. Inspired, in part, by Bertino's stabbing, the Proud Boys centered their new hierarchy in group chats that used terms such as "Ministry of Self Defense" (MOSD) . [127] However, the words "Self Defense" were misleading: Enrique Tarrio and others would soon go on the offense. And the MOSD served as their organizational scaffolding for the January 6, 2021, attack. ”

“ From the outset of the violence and for several hours that followed, people at the Capitol, people inside President Trump's Administration, elected officials of both parties, members of President Trump's family, and Fox News commentators sympathetic to President Trump all tried to contact him to urge him to do one singular thing—one thing that all of these people immediately understood was required: Instruct his supporters to stand down and disperse—to leave the Capitol. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Later, on the evening of January 6th, President Trump's former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, texted Katrina Pierson, one of President Trump’s rally organizers, that the events of the day were the result of a "sitting president asking for civil war" and that "This week I feel guilty for helping him win" now that "... a woman is dead." ”

“ Although intelligence was available suggesting potential violence at the Capitol, it was not apparent exactly what President Trump would do to provoke the crowd at the January 6th Ellipse rally. Chief Sund, for example, drove into work on January 6th believing that preparations for the day's events were sound and that there was no extraordinary risk or threat. ”

“ 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." ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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." ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Following President Trump’s “be there, will be wild!” tweet, Director Rodriguez arranged a briefing to provide the DC Mayor Muriel Bowser the latest threat intelligence about January 6th, outline the potential for violence, and “make operational recommendations,” including that the Mayor request assistance from the DC National Guard. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”