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Donald Trump on January 6th Events

Defends participants (strong)

Donald Trump views the events of January 6, 2021, not as a violent insurrection or attempted self-coup, but as a protest by patriots motivated by the belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. He has consistently downplayed the violence and characterized the participants favorably, sometimes referring to the day as a "day of love."

Trump asserts that his supporters came to Washington, D.C., because they believed the election was rigged, and he often highlights his request for them to march to the Capitol "peacefully and patriotically."

His position includes defending the motivations of the crowd and opposing the prosecution of those involved; notably, he granted clemency to virtually all January 6 rioters on his first day in office in his second term.

Timeline

  1. Donald Trump announced a large protest in D.C. for January 6, 2021, telling followers it "will be wild."
  2. During a rally, Trump urged supporters to march to the Capitol to demand Congress reject the electoral vote count, telling them to "fight like hell."
  3. While the Capitol was under attack, Trump tweeted that Vice President Mike Pence lacked the courage to reject electoral votes, rather than explicitly telling the mob to disperse initially.
  4. On his first day as president for his second term, Trump granted clemency to all January 6 rioters who were convicted or charged.

Actions Taken

  1. Speech/Rally
    Held the 'Save America' rally where he urged supporters to go to the Capitol and 'fight like hell' to overturn the election results.
  2. Personnel Action
    Fired FBI Director James Comey partly due to concerns over the Russia investigations, which were linked to the environment leading up to the 2020 election challenges.
  3. Legal/Impeachment
    Was impeached by the House of Representatives for 'incitement of insurrection' following his actions related to the attack.
  4. Executive Clemency
    Granted clemency to more than 1,500 January 6 rioters and commuted the sentences of 14 others on his first day in office of his second term.

Key Quotes

"They didn't come because of me — they came because of the election. They thought the election was a rigged election, and that's why they came."

Univision town hall October 17, 2024 — Explaining the motivation of the January 6 supporters.

"Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"

Twitter December 19, 2020 — An announcement made weeks before the January 6 rally.

"If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore"

Save America Rally Speech January 6, 2021 — A statement made during his speech at the Ellipse rally preceding the march.

"Some of his supporters went down to the Capitol, I said peacefully and patriotically. Nothing done wrong, at all, nothing done wrong."

Univision town hall October 17, 2024 — Insisting that the actions of the rioters at the Capitol were without fault.

Related Positions

  • Efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election The January 6th events were the culmination of Trump's sustained attempt to reject the certified election outcome.
  • Second impeachment of Donald Trump Trump was charged with incitement of insurrection by the House related specifically to the events of January 6.

Criticism

House Jan. 6 Committee

Asserted that Donald Trump criminally engaged in a 'multi-part conspiracy' to overturn the 2020 election results and failed to act to stop the attack.

Bennie Thompson (Rep.)

The committee's chairman stated that Trump 'lit that fire' of insurrection, indicating his words directly influenced the violent events.

Counterterrorism researchers

Described Trump's normalization and revisionist history of the attack, coupled with granting clemency to rioters, as encouraging future political violence.