6.1 How Far-right Extremists and Conspiracy Theorists Planned for January 6th

The “Stop the Steal” Coalition

¶President Trump’s “be wild” tweet immediately mobilized extremists and conspiracy theorists in the “Stop the Steal” coalition. The phrase “Stop the Steal” was originally coined in early 2016 by President Trump’s longtime political advisor, Roger Stone.⁴⁰⁴⁰ Rob Kuznia, Curt Devine, Nelli Black, and Drew Grin, “Stop the Steal’s Massive Disinformation Campaign Connected to Roger Stone and Steve Bannon,” CNN Business, (Nov. 14, 2020), available at https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/13/business/stop-the-steal-disinformation-campaign-invs/index.html. At the time, Stone alleged first that Candidate Trump’s Republican rivals were attempting to steal Candidate Trump’s nomination.⁴¹⁴¹ Charles Homans, “How ‘Stop the Steal’ Captured the American Right,” New York Times, (July 19, 2022), available at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/magazine/stop-the-steal.html. (“During his time as a Trump campaign adviser, Stone urged the candidate to run on immigration, and now he linked these views to the plots that he claimed were afoot to deny Trump the nomination. In the Republican primaries, Trump was ‘a nationalist in a field of globalists,’ Stone said in an interview that April with Stefan Molyneux, a Canadian alt-right podcaster. If the globalists failed to steal the primaries outright, there would be a ‘naked attempt to steal this from Donald Trump’ at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Stone declared. ‘The fix is in.’ ”)Show full note After Trump became the nominee, Stone repurposed the saying to claim that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would steal the presidency.⁴²⁴² Rob Kuznia, Curt Devine, Nelli Black, and Drew Grin, “Stop the Steal’s Massive Disinformation Campaign Connected to Roger Stone and Steve Bannon,” CNN Business, (Nov. 14, 2020), available at https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/13/business/stop-the-steal-disinformation-campaign-invs/index.html. When President Trump won the 2016 election, “Stop the Steal” was rendered moot—and did not become a significant political movement until President Trump’s defeat on election night in 2020.⁴³⁴³ Rob Kuznia, Curt Devine, Nelli Black, and Drew Grin, “Stop the Steal’s Massive Disinformation Campaign Connected to Roger Stone and Steve Bannon,” CNN Business, (Nov. 14, 2020), available at https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/13/business/stop-the-steal-disinformation-campaign-invs/index.html. As early as November 5, 2020, Stone advised associates that he intended to reconstitute “Stop the Steal” by building an army of lawyers and suing “like there’s no tomorrow.”⁴⁴⁴⁴ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Christoffer Guldbrandsen Production), Video file 201105.

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¶Ali Alexander, a rightwing provocateur who has worked closely with Stone,⁴⁵⁴⁵ See, Hugo Lowell, “Film Offers Inside Look at Roger Stone’s ‘Stop the Steal’ Efforts before January 6,” The Guardian, (July 8, 2022), available at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/07/roger-stone-ali-alexander-film-jan-6-stop-the-steal. quickly organized a new “Stop the Steal” campaign. On November 10, 2020, Alexander established “Stop the Steal” as an entity incorporated in Alabama.⁴⁶⁴⁶ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Ali Alexander, (Jan. 9, 2021), p. 18. Alexander added a bank account and various websites.⁴⁷⁴⁷ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Ali Alexander, (Dec. 9, 2021), pp. 199-200.

¶One of Alexander’s key allies in the “Stop the Steal” movement was Alex Jones. Prior to January 6th, Jones riled up crowds both in-person and online with incendiary rhetoric about the election. Jones’ InfoWars was also a platform for others in the election-denial coalition. For instance, both Enrique Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes made multiple appearances on InfoWars, including between election day 2020 and January 6, 2021.⁴⁸⁴⁸ See, e.g., WillfulWarrior, “Hispanic Proud Boys Leader: ‘We Fought Off Antifa Terrorists for 12 Hrs’,” BitChute, Nov. 19, 2020, available at https://www.bitchute.com/video/if5u7EuD7NU3/; Infowars: War Room, “Enrique Tarrio Spat on While Flying to Austin Texas,” BitChute, Dec. 2, 2020, available at https://www.bitchute.com/video/yKijHk6m25RL/; BNN, “Full Show: Witnesses Testify on Michigan Voter Fraud; Thousands of Illegal Votes Counted for Biden,” BitChute, Dec. 2, 2020, available at https://www.bitchute.com/video/74N0WNHOjiRy/; Jan 6th Protest and Save America March (2020-2H), “Patriots Plot Their Recapture of America in D.C. This Weekend,” Banned.Video, Nov. 9, 2020, available at https://archive.org/details/banned.video_-_jan_6th_protest_and_save_america_march_2020-2h/2020-11-11T02%3A07.148Z+-+Patriots+Plot+Their+Recapture+Of+America+In+D.C.+This+Weekend/2020-11-11T02%3A19%3A07.148Z+-+%20Patriots+Plot+Their+Recapture+Of+America+In+D.C.+This+Weekend.mp4 (archived); The Alex Jones Show, “Oathkeepers Founder: Americans Need to Overcome Their Fears And Join The March on DC,” Banned.Video, Nov. 10, 2020, available at https://freeworldnews.tv/watch?id=5fab1b880ad7422090a8242f.Show full note

¶Another frequent guest on InfoWars was Roger Stone — a nexus character in the “Stop the Steal” coalition.⁴⁹⁴⁹ Kellye SoRelle, a lawyer for the Oath Keepers, described Stone (along with Alexander) as among the key players who were the “midpoint,” “the ones who tr[ied] to orchestrate” joint efforts in the post-election period. See Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Kellye SoRelle, (Apr. 13, 2022), pp. 60-66. Stone recommended that then Presidential Candidate Donald Trump appear on Jones’s show in December 2015.⁵⁰⁵⁰ Frontline, “Alex Jones and Donald Trump: How the Candidate Echoed the Conspiracy Theorist on the Campaign Trail,” PBS, (July 28, 2020), available at https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/alex-jones-and-donald-trump-how-the-candidate-echoed-the-conspiracy-theorist-on-the-campaign-trail/. Trump accepted the invitation and praised Jones at length during his appearance.⁵¹⁵¹ Eric Bradner, “Trump Praises 9/11 Truther’s ‘Amazing’ Reputation,” CNN, (Dec. 2, 2015), available at https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/politics/donald-trump-praises-9-11-truther-alex-jones. The significance of Trump’s interview with Jones should not be underestimated. Donald Trump was a leading presidential contender at the time and would go on to win the election. His appearance with Jones normalized InfoWars, welcoming its conspiracy-minded audience into Trump’s base.⁵²⁵² See Elizabeth Williamson, “Alex Jones and Donald Trump: A Fateful Alliance Draws Scrutiny,” New York Times, (Mar. 7, 2022), available at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/us/politics/alex-jones-jan-6-trump.html (“Infowars grossed more than $50 million annually during the Trump presidency by selling diet supplements, body armor, and other products on its website.”). Trump did not appear on InfoWars again. However, Stone continued to make regular guest appearances.⁵³⁵³ See, e.g., Joshua Zitser, “Roger Stone Makes Donation Plea for Alex Jones After Verdict Says He Must Pay $49m for Sandy Hook ‘Hoax’ Claims,” Business Insider, (Aug. 7, 2022), available at https://www.businessinsider.com/video-roger-stone-asks-donations-infowars-alex-jones-sandy-hook-2022-8.

¶After election day 2020, Alexander Jones, and other “Stop the Steal” organizers, held rallies around the country to protest fictional claims of voter fraud. These events provided an opportunity for radicals and extremists to coalesce. The Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and Three Percenters were all attendees. QAnon adherents were well-represented. So, too, were the white nationalist Groypers and their leader, Nick Fuentes.

¶“Stop the Steal” events and other protests throughout 2020 helped build the momentum for January 6th. The Select Committee collected data on 85 right-wing events between January 1, 2020, and January 20, 2021, which were inspired by opposition to COVID-19 lockdown measures, racial justice protests, and, later, the perceived theft of President Trump’s victory.⁵⁴⁵⁴ See AirTable Collection from Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, “Images of State Protests before January 6, 2021.” Far-right extremists protested at or inside State capitols, or at other government buildings, in at least 68 instances.⁵⁵⁵⁵ See AirTable Collection from Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, “Images of State Protests before January 6, 2021.” Of those, 49 occurred during the period after the election through January 6th.⁵⁶⁵⁶ See AirTable Collection from Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, “Images of State Protests before January 6, 2021.” In the year leading up to January 6th, there were at least nine events at which far-right actors entered State capitols.⁵⁷⁵⁷ See AirTable Collection from Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, “Images of State Protests before January 6, 2021.”At least four of these capitol incursions—in Michigan,⁵⁸⁵⁸ Jonathan Oosting, “FBI arrests Ryan Kelley, Michigan GOP Governor Candidate, over Capitol Riots,” Bridge Michigan, (June 9, 2022), available at https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/fbi-arrests-ryan-kelley-michigan-gop-governor-candidate-over-capitol-riots. Idaho,⁵⁹⁵⁹ James Dawson, “Unmasked Protesters Push Past Police into Idaho Lawmakers’ Session,” NPR, (Apr. 25, 2022), available at https://www.npr.org/2020/08/25/905785548/unmasked-protesters-push-past-police-into-idaho-lawmakers-session; Jeremy Stiles, “Boise Woman Sentenced for Role in U.S. Capitol Riot,” KTVB, (May 24, 2022), available at https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/crime/boise-woman-sentenced-for-role-in-us-capitol-riot-pamela-hemphill-january-6-2021/277-3aa12194-5a54-4abe-88a2-d644cf5043aa.Show full note Arizona,⁶⁰⁶⁰ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Sergeant at Arms for the Arizona House of Representatives Production), CTRL0000930907, CTRL0000930908 (December 4, 2020, surveillance footage from the Arizona House of Representatives). available at https://house.app.box.com/folder/183317506767. and Oregon⁶¹⁶¹ Sergio Olmos and Conrad Wilson, “At Least 3 Men from Oregon Protest Appear to Have Joined Insurrection at U.S. Capitol,” Oregon Public Broadcasting, (Jan. 10, 2021), available at https://www.opb.org/article/2021/01/10/oregon-washington-protest-insurrection-david-anthony-medina-tim-davis/.—involved identifiable individuals who later participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

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¶Consider, for example, the protests held in Atlanta between November 18 and 21, 2020. Leaders and rank-and-file members of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and Groypers, gathered outside the State capitol and the governor’s mansion for nonstop events, including armed protests. Enrique Tarrio⁶²⁶² Brendan Guttenschwager (@BGOnTheScene), Twitter, Nov. 19, 2020 1:03 p.m. ET, available at https://twitter.com/BGOnTheScene/status/1329485442165706752. and Stewart Rhodes⁶³⁶³ Justwanna Grill, “Oathkeepers leader GROYPED in Atlanta,” YouTube, Nov. 4, 2020, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_rDOm5oKu0. personally led contingents of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, respectively.

¶Jones first announced the Atlanta events on InfoWars on November 16th. In his announcement, Jones teased that he would be joined by Roger Stone and also called on listeners to “surround the governor’s mansion” in order to prevent the election results from being certified.⁶⁴⁶⁴ Timothy Johnson, “Alex Jones Calls on Supporters to ‘Surround’ the Georgia Governor’s Mansion to Prevent Election Results from Being Certified,” Media Matters, (Nov. 17, 2020), available at https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/alex-jones-calls-supporters-surround-georgia-governors-mansion-prevent-election-results. Fuentes advertised that he would be speaking at the capitol every day at noon.⁶⁵⁶⁵ Nicholas J. Fuentes (@NickJFuentes), Twitter, Nov. 17, 2020, available at https://web.archive.org/web/20201120061341/https://twitter.com/NickJFuentes (archived). In fiery speeches across Atlanta, Fuentes spread election lies as well as wink-and-nod hints at intimidation and violence.⁶⁶⁶⁶ See, e.g., Aquarium Groyper, “Nick Fuentes Georgia State Capitol 11/20/2020,” YouTube, Nov. 20, 2020, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS1f—Tkn1M.

¶Alex Jones and Ali Alexander inside the Georgia State Capitol during a “Stop the Steal” rally on November 18, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

¶Alexander, standing alongside Jones and Fuentes outside the State capitol on November 18th, exhorted the crowd to “storm the capitol” with them.⁶⁷⁶⁷ Jacqueline Alemany et al., “Red Flags,” Washington Post, (Oct. 31, 2021), https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/warnings-jan-6-insurrection/. The three men led a crowd into the State capitol building. On November 20th, Roger Stone gave a speech outside the Georgia capitol. Speaking through a telephone held up by Alexander, Stone advanced election lies, and finished with a provocative rallying cry: “Victory or death!”⁶⁸⁶⁸ Derrick Mullins, “‘Stop the Steal’ Connected 2 Roger Stone-Roger Stone Calls Ali Anderson in Front of Atlanta GA Crowd,” YouTube Nov. 24, 2020, available at https://perma.cc/MWS3-HNGD. That same day, Fuentes told the crowd, “Look, we’ve been in front of the State capitol, maybe we’ve been trying the wrong approach.”⁶⁹⁶⁹ Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene), Twitter, Nov. 20, 2022 12:38 p.m. ET, available at https://twitter.com/BGOnTheScene/status/1329841457377800198. Days earlier, at a nighttime event outside the governor’s mansion, Alexander, again flanked by Jones and Fuentes, goaded the crowd: “We’ll light the whole shit on fire.”⁷⁰⁷⁰ Zach D. Roberts (@zdroberts), Twitter, Jan. 14, 2022 11:38 p.m. ET, available at https://twitter.com/zdroberts/status/1482210446769807360.

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¶While the crowd did not turn violent, the “Stop the Steal” protests in Atlanta, Georgia, prefigured January 6th in important respects. “Stop the Steal” organizers tried to use the mob they had assembled — including extremists from the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Three Percenters and Groypers — to intimidate lawmakers and overturn the election results in Georgia, which was required to certify former Vice President Biden’s victory in the State by the end of that week.⁷¹⁷¹ Alexandra Hurtzler, “Alex Jones Leads ‘Stop the Steal’ Rally at Georgia’s Capitol to Protest Election Results,” Newsweek, (Nov. 18, 2020), available at https://www.newsweek.com/alex-jones-leads-stop-steal-rally-georgias-capitol-protest-election-results-1548533. They implored their followers to “storm the capitol.”⁷²⁷² Jacqueline Alemany et al., “Red Flags,” Washington Post, (Oct. 31, 2021), https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/warnings-jan-6-insurrection/. As discussed in Chapter 8, this same coalition of radicals did just that on January 6, 2021.

¶Other “Stop the Steal” events helped pave the way for the events of January 6th. Two rallies in Washington D.C. — on November 14 and December 12, 2020 — were critically important. Alexander’s “Stop the Steal” was not the only protest organization present at these events. Both were called “Million MAGA Marches” and drew in other rally organizers. One of these other protests was called the “Jericho March” prayer rally.⁷³⁷³ Statement of Andrew Seidel, (Mar. 18, 2022), at p. 9. Regardless, the same constellation of actors that appeared in Atlanta also incited Trump supporters in Washington.

¶“Million MAGA March” protest on November 14, 2020 in Washington, DC. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

¶For instance, during the Jericho March rally on December 12th, Stewart Rhodes called on President Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act as part of a desperate gambit to remain in power. In Rhodes’ vision, he would lead militiamen on behalf of President Trump when others tried to remove him from office.⁷⁴⁷⁴ Mike Giglio, “The Oath Keepers’ Radical Legal Defense of January 6th,” New Yorker, (Oct. 1, 2022), available at https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-oath-keepers-radical-legal-defense-of-january-6th. If President Trump did not invoke the Insurrection Act, Rhodes warned the crowd, then they would be forced to wage a “much more desperate [and] much more bloody war.” Alex Jones also gave an incendiary speech at the Jericho March event, declaring: “I don’t know who is going to the White House in 38 days, but I sure know this, Joe Biden is a globalist, and Joe Biden will be removed, one way or another!”⁷⁵⁷⁵ “Pro-Trump Rallies in DC Attract Extremists & Erupt into Violence,” Anti-Defamation League, (Dec. 13, 2020), available at https://www.adl.org/blog/pro-trump-rallies-in-dc-attract-extremists-erupt-into-violence. Despite this, one of the organizers of the Jericho March maintained that the “tone” of the rally was supposed to be “prayerful, spirit-filled, peaceful, joyful, and vibrant, a unified celebration.” See Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Arina Grossu, (Apr. 29, 2022), p. 40.Show full note

¶As the crowds gathered in Washington on December 12th, President Trump was publicly lobbying the Supreme Court to hear his fictious claims of election fraud. The President assailed the Supreme Court on Twitter throughout the day.⁷⁶⁷⁶ See President Donald J. Trump: Tweets of December 12, 2020, The American Presidency Project, available at https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/tweets-december-19-2020. The “Stop the Steal” coalition was eager to help. After the Jericho March event ended, Jones, his InfoWars co-host Owen Shroyer, and Ali Alexander led a march on the Supreme Court. Once there, the crowd chanted slogans such as “Stop the Steal!”; “1776!!”; “Our revolution!”; and “The fight has just begun!!”⁷⁷⁷⁷ “Pro-Trump Rallies in DC Attract Extremists & Erupt into Violence,” Anti-Defamation League, (Dec. 13, 2020), available at http://www.adl.org/blog/pro-trump-rallies-in-DC-attract-extremists-erupt-into-violence.

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¶President Trump made sure to let the protesters in Washington know that he personally approved of their mission. During the November rally, President Trump waved to the crowd from his presidential motorcade.⁷⁸⁷⁸ Grace Segers, “Trump’s Motorcade Passes Supporters Gathered for ‘Million MAGA March’,” CBS News, (Nov. 14, 2020), available at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/million-maga-march-washington-dc-trumps-motorcade-passes-supporters/. Then, on the morning of December 12th, President Trump tweeted: “Wow! Thousands of people forming in Washington (D.C.) for Stop the Steal. Didn’t know about this, but I’ll be seeing them! #MAGA.”⁷⁹⁷⁹ Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump), Twitter, Dec. 12, 2020 9:59 a.m. ET, available at https://www.thetrumparchive.com/?searchbox=%22Wow%21+Thousands+of+people+forming%22 (archived). Later that day, President Trump flew over the protesters in Marine One.⁸⁰⁸⁰ Ashraf Khalil, “Marine One Buzzes Trump Supporters Rallying for President’s Bid to Stay in Office in Washington,” Chicago Tribune, (Dec. 12, 2020), available at https://www.chicagotribune.com/election-2020/ct-trump-election-20201212-z4zwtovupzhsppphzrlfhj3i3a-story.html.

¶When President Trump tweeted one week later that there would be a “wild” protest in Washington on January 6th, the “Stop the Steal” coalition immediately began to mobilize. Jones posted an article on the InfoWars website asking readers if they would “answer President Trump’s call to defend the Republic?”⁸¹⁸¹ “Breaking: Trump Calls for Americans to March on DC January 6 to Stop Foreign Takeover,” InfoWars, (Dec. 19, 2020), available at https://web.archive.org/web/20201219175757/https://www.infowars.com/posts/breaking-trump-calls-for-americans-to-march-on-dc-january-6-to-stop-foreign-takeover/ (archived). The next day, December 20th, Jones devoted much of his InfoWars show to the President’s announcement. Jones told his audience several times that if 10 million Americans came to Washington, DC on January 6th, Congress would have to listen to them.⁸²⁸² “The Alex Jones Show,” Prison Planet TV, Dec. 20, 2020, available at http://tv.infowars.com/index/display/id/11151. He repeated this idea over the course of the episode, saying things such as, “He’s calling you, he needs your help, we need your help, we need 10 million people there,” “[w]e need martial law and have to prevent the police state of foreigners from taking over.” Jones added: “It’s literally in our hands. It’s literally up to us.”⁸³⁸³ “The Alex Jones Show,” Prison Planet TV, Dec. 20, 2020, at 1:27:13, available at http://tv.infowars.com/index/display/id/11151.

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¶Other InfoWars hosts promoted the “wild” protest as well. In late December, Matt Bracken told InfoWars viewers that it may be necessary to storm the U.S. Capitol. “We’re going to only be saved by millions of Americans moving to Washington, occupying the entire area, if — if necessary storming right into the Capitol,” Bracken said. “You know, they’re — we know the rules of engagement. If you have enough people, you can push down any kind of a fence or a wall.”⁸⁴⁸⁴ The Alex Jones Show, “January 6th Will Be a Turning Point in American History,” Banned.Video, at 16:29, Dec. 31, 2020, available at https://banned.video/watch?id=5fee715284a7b6210e12a2f7.

¶Far-right extremists planned to do just that.