Chapter 111: Stay Peaceful

413       mob on the western edge Marshall Cohen and Avery Lotz, “The January 6 Insurrection: Minute-by-Minute,” CNN, July 29, 2022, www.cnn.com/2022/07/10/politics/jan-6-us-capitol-riot-timeline. 

413       More and more people marched down . . . U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Final Report, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/pdf/GPO-J6-REPORT.pdf, 577; and Kat Lonsdorf et al., “A Timeline of the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack—Including When and How Trump Responded,” NPR, updated January 5, 2024, www.npr.org/2022/01/05/1069977469/a-timeline-of-how-the-jan-6-attack-unfolded-including-who-said-what-and-when. 

413       “fight like hell” “Trump’s Full Speech at D.C. Rally on Jan. 6,” Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2021, video, www.wsj.com/video/trump-full-speech-at-dc-rally-on-jan-6/E4E7BBBF-23B1-4401-ADCE-7D4432D07030, 69:37–69:42.

413       overwhelmed the much smaller battalion . . . reinforced by . . . Lonsdorf et al., “A Timeline of the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack—Including When and How Trump Responded,” www.npr.org/2022/01/05/1069977469/a-timeline-of-how-the-jan-6-attack-unfolded-including-who-said-what-and-when; and U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Final Report, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/pdf/GPO-J6-REPORT.pdf, 6.

413       sprayed the officers with chemical weapons Dustin Jones and Carrie Johnson, “Jan. 6 Rioter who Assaulted Capitol Officer Sicknick Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison,” NPR, January 27, 2023, www.npr.org/2023/01/27/1152111889/khater-sentenced-prison-pepper-spraying-officers-jan-6; and U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Final Report, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/pdf/GPO-J6-REPORT.pdf, 662.

413       beat up the officers with bats, pipes—even flagpoles Tom Dreisbach and Tim Mak, “Yes, Capitol Rioters Were Armed: Here Are The Weapons Prosecuters Say They Used,” NPR, March 19, 2021, www.npr.org/2021/03/19/977879589/yes-capitol-rioters-were-armed-here-are-the-weapons-prosecutors-say-they-used; and U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Final Report, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/pdf/GPO-J6-REPORT.pdf, 642.

413       crushed and trampled the officers to push their way . . . Gary Grumbach and Ryan J. Reilly, “D.C. Officer Daniel Hodges Testifies Against Capitol Rioter Who ‘Crushed’ Him with Shield,” NBC News, August 30, 2022, www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/dc-officer-daniel-hodges-testifies-capitol-rioter-crushed-shield-rcna45533; and Martha Mendoza and Juliet Linderman, “Officers Maced, Trampled: Docs Expose Depth of Jan. 6 Chaos,” Associated Press (AP) News, March 10, 2021, apnews.com/article/docs-expose-depth-january-6-capitol-siege-chaos-fd3204574c11e453be8fb4e3c81258c3.   

413       assaulted more than 140 police officers U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Final Report, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/pdf/GPO-J6-REPORT.pdf, 101.

413       sprayed in the face . . . died after a series of strokes the next day Daniel Barnes and Sarah Mimms, “Man Sentenced to over 6 Years in the Jan. 6 Assault on Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick,” NBC News, January 27, 2023, www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/man-sentenced-6-years-jan-6-assault-brian-sicknick-rcna67892; and Pete Williams, “Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick Died of Natural Causes After Riot, Medical Examiner Says,” NBC News, April 19, 2021,www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/capitol-police-officer-brian-sicknick-died-natural-causes-after-riot-n1264562. 

413       Four . . . later died by suicide Jan Wolfe, “Four Officers Who Responded to U.S. Capitol Attack Have Died by Suicide,” Reuters, August 2, 2021, www.reuters.com/world/us/officer-who-responded-us-capitol-attack-is-third-die-by-suicide-2021-08-02/. 

413       shattered windows and invaded Lonsdorf et al., “A Timeline of the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack—Including When and How Trump Responded,” www.npr.org/2022/01/05/1069977469/a-timeline-of-how-the-jan-6-attack-unfolded-including-who-said-what-and-when.

413       flew . . . for the first time in the building Jordan Brasher, “The Confederate Battle Flag, Which Rioters Flew Inside the US Capitol, Has Long Been a Symbol of White Insurrection,” The Conversation, January 14, 2021, theconversation.com/the-confederate-battle-flag-which-rioters-flew-inside-the-us-capitol-has-long-been-a-symbol-of-white-insurrection-153071. See also Eliott C. McLaughlin, “Before January 6, Insurgents Waving Confederate Flags Hadn’t Been Within 6 miles of the US Capitol,” CNN, January 7, 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/us/capitol-confederate-flag-fort-stevens. 

413       Some took smiling pictures with them Louise Hall, “Police Officer Filmed Posing for Selfie with Pro-Trump Rioter Inside US Capitol,” The Independent, January 7, 2021, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/police-officer-selfie-rioter-us-capitol-trump-b1783760.html; and Bryan Lowry, “Records: Capitol Police Officers Took Selfies with Jan. 6 Rioters,” Officer.com, September 15, 2021, www.officer.com/investigations/research/news/21238339/records-capitol-police-officers-took-selfies-with-jan-6-rioters. 

413       fled for their lives U.S. Congress, Senate, Congressional Record, 117th Cong., 1st sess., vol. 167, no. 26 (February 11, 2021), www.congress.gov/117/crec/2021/02/11/CREC-2021-02-11-pt1-PgS645-2.pdf, S655, S661, S653; and U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Final Report, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/pdf/GPO-J6-REPORT.pdf, 664–666.

413       barricaded themselves inside . . . Lonsdorf et al., “A Timeline of the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack—Including When and How Trump Responded,” www.npr.org/2022/01/05/1069977469/a-timeline-of-how-the-jan-6-attack-unfolded-including-who-said-what-and-when; U.S. Congress, Senate, Congressional Record, 117th Cong., 1st sess., vol. 167, no. 26 (February 11, 2021), www.congress.gov/117/crec/2021/02/11/CREC-2021-02-11-pt1-PgS645-2.pdf, S655.

413       to break down doors and seize them Mary Clare Jalonick, “‘We Were Trapped’: Trauma of Jan. 6 Lingers for Lawmakers,” AP News, January 5, 2022, apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-elections-riots-presidential-elections-house-elections-aba4e7e0660d9c34f5d4a7e03826a39c; “‘We Were Surrounded’: Congressman Jason Crow Trapped in The U.S. House As Rioters Attempt to Break Down Doors,” CBS News, January 6, 2021, www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/we-were-surrounded-congressman-jason-crow-trapped-in-the-u-s-house-as-rioters-attempt-to-break-down-doors; U.S. Congress, Senate, Congressional Record, 117th Cong., 1st sess., vol. 167, no. 26 (February 11, 2021), www.congress.gov/117/crec/2021/02/11/CREC-2021-02-11-pt1-PgS645-2.pdf, S655; and Paul D. Shinkman, “Prosecutors: Capitol Rioters Intended to ‘Capture and Assassinate’ Elected Officials,” U.S. News & World Report, January 15, 2021, www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-01-15/prosecutors-capitol-rioters-intended-to-capture-and-assassinate-elected-officials. 

413–414   “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage . . .” Trump’s tweets from January 6, 2021, have since been removed from Twitter but have been preserved by the American Presidency Project at UCSB. Trump quoted in Lonsdorf et al., “Timeline of the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack—Including When and How Trump Responded,” www.npr.org/2022/01/05/1069977469/a-timeline-of-how-the-jan-6-attack-unfolded-including-who-said-what-and-when. See also “Donald J. Trump (1st Term), Tweets of January 6, 2021,” in Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, January 6, 2021, 7:24:22 p.m., www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/tweets-january-6-2021. 

413–414   “traitor” According to reports, the crowd at the Capitol chanted “Traitor Pence!” after Trump tweeted that Pence was not protecting the country. See Libby Cathey, “What Is Known About Mike Pence’s ‘Contemporaneous Notes’ on Trump in Jan. 6 Case,” ABC News, August 8, 2023, abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-pences-contemporaneous-notes-jan-6/story?id=102072659. 

414       “Hang Mike Pence!” “Rioters Chant ‘Hang Mike Pence’ on Jan. 6, 2021,” Washington Post, video, June 16, 2022, www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/rioters-chant-hang-mike-pence-on-jan-6-2021/2022/06/16/3cc093f1-0eb7-427d-8073-b5874ca27e80_video.html, 0:46–0:58.

414       “There will come a time when the people . . .” Santiago Abascal quoted in Sam Jones, “Vox Leader’s ‘Strung Up’ Remark About Spain PM Referred to Public Prosecutor,” The Guardian, December 12, 2023, www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/13/far-right-vox-leader-strung-up-remark-spain-santiago-abascal-pedro-sanchez.   

414       ransacked it, looted it, urinated on it, vandalized it Wilson Wong, “Shattered Glass, Ransacked Offices: Images of Damage at U.S. Capitol Left by Pro-Trump Mob,” NBC News, January 7, 2021, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/shattered-glass-ransacked-offices-images-damage-u-s-capitol-left-n1253302; and Rachel Treisman, “Poop on Pelosi’s desk, a Neo-Nazi Tiki Torch: Mysterious Statues Are Popping Up in D.C.” NPR, October 1, 2024, www.npr.org/2024/10/29/nx-s1-5169978/poop-desk-statue-tiki-torch-national-mall. 

414       second-ever invasion of the U.S. Capitol The first time was in 1814, during the War of 1812, when British troops breached and set the building on fire. Amanda Holpuch, “US Capitol’s Last Breach Was More Than 200 Years Ago,’ The Guardian, January 6, 2021, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/06/us-capitol-building-washington-history-breach. 

414       watched . . . on television Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan, “Trump Watched Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol Riot Unfold on TV, Ignored Pleas to Call for Peace,” Reuters, July 22, 2022, www.reuters.com/world/us/us-capitol-probes-season-finale-focus-trump-supporters-three-hour-rage-2022-07-21/. 

414       pressured him to strongly condemn the attack Zengerle and Cowan, “Trump Watched Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol Riot Unfold on TV, Ignored Pleas to Call for Peace,” www.reuters.com/world/us/us-capitol-probes-season-finale-focus-trump-supporters-three-hour-rage-2022-07-21/. 

414       He refused  Zengerle and Cowan, “Trump Watched Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol Riot Unfold on TV, Ignored Pleas to Call for Peace,” www.reuters.com/world/us/us-capitol-probes-season-finale-focus-trump-supporters-three-hour-rage-2022-07-21/. 

414       “stay peaceful” “Donald J. Trump (1st Term), Tweets of January 6, 2021,” Peters and Woolley, The American Presidency Project, January 6, 2021, 7:38:58 p.m., www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/tweets-january-6-2021. 

414       “go home” “Donald J. Trump (1st Term), Tweets of January 6, 2021,” Peters and Woolley, The American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, January 6, 2021, 11:01:04 p.m., www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/tweets-january-6-2021. 

414       “love” . . . “patriots” . . . “have been badly & unfairly treated for so long” “Donald J. Trump (1^st Term), Tweets of January 6, 2021,” Peters and Woolley, The American Presidency Project, January 6, 2021, 11:01:04 p.m., www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/tweets-january-6-2021. 

414       Four Trump supporters died Chris Cameron, “These Are the People Who Died in Connection with the Capitol Riot,” New York Times, January 5, 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/us/politics/jan-6-capitol-deaths.html. 

414       wait more than three hours . . . Alana Wise, “DOD Took Hours To Approve National Guard Request During Capitol Riot, Commander Says,” NPR, March 3, 2021, www.npr.org/2021/03/03/973292523/dod-took-hours-to-approve-national-guard-request-during-capitol-riot-commander-s. 

414       until around 6 P.M. Lonsdorf et al., “A Timeline of the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack—Including When and How Trump Responded,” www.npr.org/2022/01/05/1069977469/a-timeline-of-how-the-jan-6-attack-unfolded-including-who-said-what-and-when.

414       Practically none . . . arrested on site “The Metropolitan Police Department arrested 68 people [on January 6] and early [January 7], primarily for violating a curfew imposed by the city’s mayor.” The Capitol Police arrested just 14 people during the insurrection. Graham Kates and Erin Donaghue, “Police Release Photos of People Sought for Rioting in the Capitol,” CBS News, January 7, 2021, www.cbsnews.com/news/us-capitol-riot-police-trump-supporter-photos/. 

414       arrest and charge more than a thousand . . . “48 Months Since the Jan. 6 Attack on U.S. Capitol,” U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, U.S. Department of Justice, January 6, 2025, accessed via Wayback Machine, January 6, 2025 capture, web.archive.org/web/20250106172147/www.justice.gov/usao-dc/48-months-jan-6-attack-us-capitol. 

414       pardoned them Donald J. Trump, “Granting Pardons and Commutation of Sentences for Certain Offenses Relating to the Events at or Near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” The White House, January 20, 2025, www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/; and Carrie Johnson et al., “Trump Gave Pardons to Hundreds of Violent Jan. 6 Rioters: Here’s What They Did,” All Things Considered, NPR, January 21,2025, www.npr.org/2025/01/21/nx-s1-5268919/trump-issues-jan-6-pardons-attack-capitol-clemency. 

415       certified Joe Biden’s victory Lonsdorf et al., “A Timeline of the Jan. 6 Capitol Attack—Including When and How Trump Responded,” www.npr.org/2022/01/05/1069977469/a-timeline-of-how-the-jan-6-attack-unfolded-including-who-said-what-and-when.