Jul 12, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Trump planned ahead of Jan. 6 to ask supporters to march to Capitol, panel says

Erin Doherty

A draft tweet from former U.S. President Donald Trump appears on a video screen above members of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Jan. 6 panel showed evidence on Tuesday that former President Trump planned in advance to tell his supporters to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to an unpublished draft tweet.

Driving the news: "I will be making the Big Speech at 10AM on January 6th at the Ellipse...March to the Capitol after. Stop the Steal!" Trump wrote in the draft tweet, the committee revealed.

Katrina Pierson, a former Trump campaign spokesperson who helped plan the Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse, also wrote in an email: "POTUS expectations are to have something intimate at the ellipse, and call on everyone to march to the [C]apitol," according to evidence provided by the panel.
"The evidence confirms that this was not a spontaneous call to action, but rather was a deliberate strategy decided upon in advance by the President," Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), a House Select committee member, said Tuesday.

The big picture: The new evidence comes as lawyers for Trump have argued that the former president did not intend for his supporters to march to the Capitol.

The panel seeks to tie Trump to the violence of that day, showing the linkage between the former president's actions and extremist groups, including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

Go deeper... Ex-Twitter employee feared Trump was speaking directly to extremists on platform

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Trump planned ahead of Jan. 6 to ask supporters to march to Capitol, panel says

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