Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, 2:28 p.m.: "Mark I was just told there is an active shooter on the first floor of the Capitol Please tell the President to calm people[.] This isn't the way to solve anything."[229]
Laura Ingraham, 2:32 p.m.: "Hey Mark, The [sic] president needs to tell people in the Capitol to go home." "This is hurting all of us." "He is destroying his legacy and playing into every stereotype … we lose all credibility against the BLM/Antifa crowd if things go South." "You can tell him I said this."[230]
Mick Mulvaney, 2:35 p.m.: "Mark: he needs to stop this, now. Can I do anything to help?"[231]
Representative Barry Loudermilk, 2:44 p.m.: "It's really bad up here on the hill." "They have breached the Capitol."[232] At 2:48 p.m., Meadows responded: "POTUS is engaging."[233] At 2:49 p.m., Loudermilk responded: "Thanks. This doesn't help our cause."[234]
Representative William Timmons, 2:46 p.m.: "The president needs to stop this ASAP."[235] At 2:49 p.m., Meadows responded: "We are doing it."[236]
Donald Trump, Jr., 2:53 p.m.: "He's got to condem [sic] this shit. Asap. The captiol [sic] police tweet is not enough."[237] Meadows responded: "I am pushing it hard. I agree."[238] Later, Trump, Jr., continued: "This his [sic] one you go to the mattresses on. They will try to fuck his entire legacy on this if it gets worse."[239]
White House staff discussed issuing yet another, stronger statement to address the ongoing—and escalating—violence. Around 3:00 p.m., one proposal was written in block capital letters on a pocket card from the chief of staff's office:
ANYONE WHO ENTERED THE CAPITOL
ILLEGALLYWITHOUT PROPER AUTHORITY SHOULD LEAVE IMMEDIATELY[.][240]
The handwriting appears to have been scrawled quickly and somewhat messily. Hutchinson recalled Meadows returning from the dining room with the note in hand and placing it on her desk.[241] The word "illegally" had been newly crossed out.[242]
But there would be no further action, Meadows told her.[243]
At 3:13 p.m., 35 minutes after his last tweet, the President issued another tweet. Rather than coming out with a stronger statement, the 3:13 p.m. tweet largely parroted the one preceding it:
