It was Not just President Trump who should be blamed for inciting the crowds that mobbed the nation’s capitol and left the place in shambles ….
Standing before a crowd of thousands of MAGA-clad protesters on the National Mall on Wednesday, Representative Mo Brooks roared out a message that he said members of Congress who dared to accept President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory needed to hear.
“Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass,” said Mr. Brooks, Republican of Alabama. “Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America? Louder! Will you fight for America?”
Hours later, urged on by President Trump at the same rally, rioters stormed the Capitol, where Congress was meeting to formalize Mr. Biden’s election, chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” threatening to shoot Speaker Nancy Pelosi and forcing lawmakers to evacuate the building in a scene of violence and mayhem. Afterward, police officers recovered long guns, Molotov cocktails, explosive devices and zip ties. At least five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died during the protests and the siege and in the immediate aftermath.
Even after the tear gas cleared and the Capitol was secured, more than 135 House Republicans, including the party’s two top leaders, ultimately voted to throw out millions of lawfully cast votes, fulfilling the rioters’ demands and answering Mr. Trump’s call for Congress to subvert the election results in his favor.
But a handful of Mr. Trump’s most loyal allies in the House had gone even further in the days and weeks before the riot, urging their supporters to come to Washington on Jan. 6 to make a defiant last stand to keep him in power. They linked arms with the organizers of the protest and used inflammatory, bellicose language to describe the stakes….
image…Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times
Aiding and Abating?
Lawmakers Gave ‘Reconnaissance’ Tours of Capitol
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) made a startling claim that some members of Congress led groups of people through the Capitol Building on a “reconnaissance” tour one day before the riot that laid a deadly siege on the government’s legislative branch, the Bergen Record reports.
Said Sherrill: “I’m going to see they are held accountable, and if necessary, ensure that they don’t serve in Congress.”
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GOP Lawmaker Urged Crowd to ‘Conquer’ the Hill
A video shows Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) at a rally promoting the January 6 rally that turned into a mob storming the U.S. Capitol.
Said Gosar: “You get to go back home once we conquer the Hill. Donald Trump is returned to being president.”