A congressional committee investigating the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot has heard that a tweet from Donald Trump mobilised far-right extremists to converge on Washington DC. The post, sent on 19 December 2020, told supporters: 'Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild.'
The tweet followed what the panel described as the 'craziest meeting of the Trump presidency', during which the then-president was urged by informal advisers to order the military to seize state voting machines. The meeting was intercepted by aides, including then-White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who testified that the president was not receiving good advice.
Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, a member of the committee, told the hearing that Mr Trump had attempted to contact a witness, raising possible witness tampering. She said the justice department had been notified.
One witness, Ohio man Stephen Ayres, who has pleaded guilty to participating in the attack, approached two injured police officers and shook their hands, apologising for his actions. Officer Harry Dunn described the exchange as 'trying to process'.
The committee, which has been investigating the attack for nearly a year, is seeking to draw a direct line between the social media post and the violence. The panel accuses Mr Trump of an attempted coup to remain in power.
