An analysis from a nonprofit government watchdog finds that dozens of individuals charged for their role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, believed that then-President Donald Trump had commanded them to engage in the violence.
According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), at least 174 defendants charged with crimes relating to the breach of the Capitol have cited Trump’s words in the lead-up to or on January 6. These individuals have noted that Trump promised a “wild” event in public statements and on social media in the days leading up to the attack.
This and other comments from Trump led them to believe that Trump wanted his loyalists to interrupt Congress’s certification of the 2020 presidential race on January 6, 2021.
“These defendants and their legal representatives have made it clear that Trump’s repeated false statements and calls to action drove their actions that day,” the analysis from CREW said.
Of the 174 defendents who cited Trump’s words, 94 said that his incendiary speech directly before the breach of the Capitol led them to believe he wanted violence.
On the morning of January 6, as Congress was preparing to certify Joe Biden’s win over Trump in the 2020 presidential election, Trump held a rally in front of the White House, falsely alleging that the race had been “stolen” from him “by emboldened radical left Democrats” and “the fake news media” and that fraud had altered the contest’s results.
Trump then encouraged his loyalists to go to the Capitol. “We will never give up. We will never concede, it doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved,” he said, adding that his followers could “never take back our country with weakness.”
In the analysis published on Thursday, CREW cites quotes from defendants — uncovered in letters to federal judges, court filings, direct appeals to the public and more — about their perceived call to action by Trump. One defendant, for example, stated in a court filing that he “believed he was directed and authorized to engage” in the attack “by Donald J. Trump and his various agents and representatives.”
Another defendant alleged that he was “responding to the entreaties” of the former president and was “misled” by Trump’s “deception” leading up to the attack.
“[W]e’re going back to Washington January 6th,” another person said, according to CREW, citing a group chat they were involved in. “Trump has called all patriots. If the electors don’t elect, we will be forced into civil war.”
According to CREW, 16 individuals from two far right white supremacist groups, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, said that they interpreted Trump’s words to be an order to attack Congress.
“He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!! Sir Yes Sir!!!” one Oath Keeper wrote in a group chat. “Gentlemen we are heading to DC pack your shit!!”
CREW noted that the information in its report “bolsters the evidence that January 6th was the result of organized efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to halt the certification of a free and fair election by force.” The analysis strengthens arguments from many — including the organization itself — that Trump should be disqualified from running for office in 2024.
“Based on his actions surrounding the insurrection, Donald Trump is disqualified from ever holding public office again under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone who has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and who then engaged in insurrection or gave aid or comfort to insurrectionists from holding state or federal office,” CREW said.
“Protecting our democracy means preventing those who tried to overthrow our government on January 6th from trying to lead it,” the organization added. “This is not merely a policy preference; it is a constitutional imperative.”
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy