When thousands of individuals took part during the January 6, 2021 insurrection, many wondered what then-President Donald Trump was doing during the attack. A hoard of protestors had gathered outside the Capitol, eventually breaking down police barriers to enter the esteemed building. In the midst of the unprecedented violence, seven people lost their lives, including a police officer. Nearly 150 other police officials were injured in attempting to sequester the intruders.
All eyes were on Trump following the incident, with many claiming his tweets and a rally held nearby beforehand had incited the riot. “Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election,” Trump wrote on X in December 2020, for example, while beginning his “Stop the Steal” campaign, which called for an overturning of the election results. “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” he added, referencing the day that Congress would certify Joe Biden as president-elect. “Be there, will be wild!”
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Trump later released a since-deleted video on X (via CNN). “I know your pain,” he began, before doubling down on baseless claims of a stolen election. “… But you have to go home now, we have to have peace. We have to have law and order.” The platform formerly known as Twitter temporarily banned Trump just days later. Capitol intruder Stephen Ayres testified during the January 6th House Committee’s investigation that he felt Trump encouraged the riot, saying, “He basically put out, you know, come to the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally, you know, and I felt like I needed to be down here.”
