10. Rioters Believed They Were Following Trump’s Orders
One of the questions the House Select Committee has to answer is the extent to which then-President Donald Trump is responsible for the actions of many who stormed the Capitol that day, many with ties to white supremacy and other extremist organizations. It is argued that Trump has long been stoking the fires as far back as Sept. 23, 2020, when in a White House press conference he refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost the election.
The committee has argued that Trump’s statements on Twitter such as the one on Jan. 6, where he tweeted “Big protest in DC on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” actively encouraged his supporters to travel to the Capitol. And in his speech at the protest insisted that they ‘fight like hell’ and if his supporters don’t they’re ‘not going to have a country anymore.’ Many of his supporters who are now facing serious jail time have cited Trump’s words as the reason they got involved in the insurrection.
