Trump loyalists who planned the January 6 rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol building used “burner phones” to communicate with campaign and administration officials in the lead-up to the attack, according to sources speaking with Rolling Stone.
Kylie Kremer, a top official in the March for Trump group that helped plan the rally, told her aides to purchase the burner phones using cash rather than debit or credit cards — suggesting that the rally’s organizers wanted to keep their communications as secretive as possible.
Burner phones are cheap, prepaid cell phones that can be destroyed or discarded at any time. They are difficult to trace, especially if they are paid for with cash, and they are often used to ensure maximum privacy.
Kremer told her aides that the phones — and the need for their purchase to be undetected— were “of the utmost importance.” The three sources speaking to Rolling Stone said that Kremer used one of the phones to communicate with Trump allies and family members, including his son, Eric Trump; Laura Trump, Eric’s wife and Trump’s campaign consultant; Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff; and Katrina Pierson, another consultant for the campaign.
A second phone was given to Kremer’s mother, Amy Kremer, who also helped organize the rally. It’s unknown who was given the third burner phone.
“They were planning all kinds of stuff, marches and rallies. Any conversation she had with the White House or Trump family took place on those phones,” one of the sources told the magazine.
This new information will likely be examined by the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, which has been looking into efforts by Trump and his allies to “subvert the rule of law, overturn the results of the November 3, 2020 election, or otherwise impede the peaceful transfer of power.”
Amy and Kylie Kremer both run the pro-Trump organization Women for America First, and have already been subpoenaed by the commission to hand over documents and testify on their involvement with the Trump campaign in the days preceding the attack.
“The investigation has revealed credible evidence of your involvement in events within the scope of the Select Committee’s inquiry,” the subpoena letter from the commission to Kylie Kremer said.
Leaked texts from the Kremers — not from the burner phones but in the days leading up to January 6 — reveal that they were in direct talks with Trump administration officials regarding the rally that happened in front of the White House hours before a mob of Trump loyalists attacked Congress.
“We are following POTUS’ lead,” read one text from Kylie Kremer.
Join us in defending the truth before it’s too late
The future of journalism is uncertain, and the consequences of losing it are too grave to ignore. To ensure Truthout remains fearless, tough, and 100 percent independent, we need to raise $36,000 in the next 6 days. Every dollar raised goes directly toward the costs of producing news you can trust.
Please give what you can — because by supporting us with a tax-deductible donation, you’re not just preserving a source of news, you’re helping to safeguard what’s left of our democracy.