... We wait and take orders from our president.'"[1] Yet another rioter yelled at police officers, “[w]e were invited here … by the President of the United States!”[2]
After the insurrection, one participant who broke into the Capitol wearing combat gear and carrying zip ties stated that he acted because “[t]he President asked for his supporters to be there to attend, and I felt like it was important, because of how much I love this country, to actually be there.”[3] Another asserted, “I thought I was following my President. … He asked us to fly there, he asked us to be there, so I was doing what he asked us to do.”[4] She explained that she believed that she had “answered the call of [her] president,” echoing the views of other participants.[5] Subsequent reporting revealed that far-right groups had rallied members to attend the event based upon “the green light from the President.”[6]
The insurrectionists killed a Capitol Police officer by striking him in the head with a fire extinguisher.[7] They injured over 140 police officers, including at least 81 U.S. Capitol Police officers and 65 members of the Metropolitan Police Department, with many requiring hospitalization and significant medical treatment.[8] One suffered an apparent heart attack after he was hit six times with a stun gun; another lost part of a finger.[9] To cite just a few of the many
- ↑ Dan Barry et al., '‘Our President Wants Us Here’: The Mob That Stormed the Capitol, N.Y. Times (Jan. 9, 2021).
- ↑ See Philip Bump, A House Republican Wanted Proof of Incitement. Here Are Four Rioters Who Came to D.C. Because of Trump, Wash. Post (Jan. 13, 2021).
- ↑ Here Are Some of the People Charged since a Mob Breached the Capitol, Wash. Post (Jan. 15, 2021).
- ↑ David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud), Twitter (Jan. 15, 2021, 8:30 PM).
- ↑ Alan Feurer & Nicole Hong, ‘I Answered the Call of My President’: Rioters Say Trump Urged Them On, N.Y. Times (Jan. 17, 2021).
- ↑ Georgia Wells et al., Proud Boys, Seizing Trump’s Call to Washington, Helped Lead Capitol Attack, Wall Street J. (Jan. 17, 2021); Aruna Viswanatha & Sadie Gurman, Far-Right Affiliations Seen among Those Recently Charged in Capitol Riot, Wall Street J. (Jan. 17, 2021).
- ↑ Marc Santora et al., Capitol Police Officer Dies from Injuries in Pro-Trump Rampage, N.Y. Times (Jan. 8, 2021).
- ↑ Peter Hermann & Julie Zauzmer, Beaten, Sprayed with Mace and Hit with Stun Guns: Police Describe Injuries to Dozens of Officers during Assault on U.S. Capitol, Wash. Post (Jan. 11, 2021); Special Agent Michael Palian Affidavit, at 5 (Jan. 19, 2021); Tom Jackman, Police Union Says 140 Officers Injured in Capitol Riot, Wash. Post (Jan. 27, 2021).
- ↑ Peter Hermann & Julie Zauzmer, Beaten, Sprayed with Mace and Hit with Stun Guns: Police Describe Injuries to Dozens of Officers during Assault on U.S. Capitol, Wash. Post (Jan. 11, 2021).
