Reports that Matter

Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol · 2022

8.4 President Trump’s Mob Descends on the U.S. Capitol

Section 89 of 104

8.4 President Trump’s Mob Descends on the U.S. Capitol

Toward the end of his speech at the Ellipse, President Trump made sure an already angry crowd of his supporters stayed enraged. “We fight like hell[,] and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” the President told the tens of thousands of people who had assembled at the Ellipse, or in the vicinity. About one minute later, President Trump directed those in attendance “to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue . . . to the Capitol.” The President told the people they were “going to try and give” Republicans, including his own Vice President, “the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”96 “Donald Trump Speech ‘Save America’ Rally Transcript January 6,” Rev, (Jan. 6, 2021), available at https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6.

“There’s enough people here to storm the Capitol,” a member of the crowd said at 1:06 p.m., just as the President was concluding his remarks.97 Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Alex Holder Production), Video file 45DAY32CAMB0059.mov, at 2:11 (using audio track 4 to hear the statement clearly from someone off camera). Ronald Sandlin, who pleaded guilty to and has been sentenced for felonies committed on January 6th, including telling officers in the Capitol that “[y]ou’re going to die,” watched the President’s speech from a nearby restaurant and live-streamed a video in which he encouraged “other patriots” to “take the Capitol.”98 “Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach,” Department of Justice, (Sep. 30, 2022), available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/tennessee-man-pleads-guilty-felony-charges-actions-during-jan-6-capitol-breach. Sandlin repeated the phrase “freedom is paid for with blood” several times during his video.99 “Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach,” Department of Justice, (Sep. 30, 2022), available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/tennessee-man-pleads-guilty-felony-charges-actions-during-jan-6-capitol-breach.

“We’re getting ready to go march on Capitol Hill. We’re gonna go fuck some shit up,” Cody Mattice, another January 6th defendant who pleaded guilty and has been sentenced,100 “Two Men Sentenced to 44 Months in Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement Officers During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach,” Department of Justice, (July 15, 2022), available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/two-men-sentenced-prison-assaulting-law-enforcement-officers-during-jan-6-capitol-breach. said while walking to the Capitol. Mattice later added: “We’re getting up front, and we’re taking this shit.”101 Statement of Offense at 4, United States v. Mattice, No. 1:21-cr-657 (D.D.C. Apr. 22, 2022), ECF No. 44. Ryan Nichols, who was charged with eight felonies, livestreamed a diatribe as he marched towards the Capitol at 1:40 p.m. Nichols echoed the President’s unconstitutional claim that Vice President Pence had the power to decide the election himself. “I’m hearing that Pence just caved . . . I’m telling you if Pence caved, we’re gonna drag motherfuckers through the streets,” Nichols said.102 Government’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Release from Pretrial Detention at 10–11, United States v. Nichols, No. 1:21-cr-117 (D.D.C. Nov. 29, 2021), ECF No. 61; Tom Dreisbach (@TomDreisbach), Twitter, Feb. 4, 2022, 7:40 p.m. ET, available at https://twitter.com/TomDreisbach/status/1489763508459687937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1489763508459687937%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=; Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Public Hearing, (June 16, 2022), at 0:14:11–0:15:00, https://youtu.be/vBjUWVKuDj0?t=851; Hearing on Motion to Modify Conditions of Release, Exhibit 07 at 7:43–8:00, United States v. Nichols, No. 1:21-cr-117 (D.D.C. Dec. 20, 2021). Nichols had made similarly violent statements since the November 2020 election, with increasing references to fighting on January 6th following President Trump’s December 19th tweet. See Government’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Release from Pretrial Detention at 4–8, United States v. Nichols, No. 1:21-cr-117 (D.D.C. Nov. 29, 2021), ECF No. 61 (documenting the many communications Nichols had with his codefendant planning for violence). “Cut their heads off!” Nichols yelled with his codefendant Harkrider, before encouraging others to join “Republican protestors [who] are trying to enter the House right now.”103 Government’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Release from Pretrial Detention at 10–11, United States v. Nichols, No. 1:21-cr-117 (D.D.C. Nov. 29, 2021), ECF No. 61; Tom Dreisbach (@TomDreisbach), Twitter, Feb. 4, 2022, 7:40 p.m. ET, available at: https://twitter.com/TomDreisbach/status/1489763508459687937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1489763508459687937%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=; Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Public Hearing, (June 16, 2022), at 0:14:11–0:15:00, https://youtu.be/vBjUWVKuDj0?t=851; Hearing on Motion to Modify Conditions of Release, Exhibit 07 at 7:43–8:00, United States v. Nichols, No. 1:21-cr-117 (D.D.C. Dec. 20, 2021).

On the way to the Capitol, Oath Keeper Jessica Watkins chatted with others in a Zello group named “Stop the Steal J6.” Watkins said that “100%” of the Ellipse crowd was “marching on the Capitol,” because “it has spread like wildfire that Pence has betrayed us.”104 On the Media, “Jessica Watkins on ‘Stop The Steal J6’ Zello Channel (Unedited),” SoundCloud, at 4:00–4:12, Mar. 8, 2021, available at https://soundcloud.com/user-403747081/jessica-watkins-on-stop-the-steal-j6-zello-channel-unedited. As she approached the Capitol with a contingent of Oath Keepers, Watkins said: “I’m probably gonna go silent when I get there ’cause I’m a be a little busy.105 On the Media, “Jessica Watkins on ‘Stop The Steal J6’ Zello Channel (Unedited),” SoundCloud, at 5:30–5:34, Mar. 8, 2021, available at https://soundcloud.com/user-403747081/jessica-watkins-on-stop-the-steal-j6-zello-channel-unedited. Donald Hazard, a Three Percenter from Texas who claimed to be allied with Proud Boys on January 6th, told a Washington Post reporter that he wanted his face recorded on video as he marched to the Capitol. “I want the enemy to know exactly who is coming after them,” Hazard explained.106 Statement of Facts at 13, United States v. Hazard, No. 1:22-cr-70 (D.D.C. Dec. 7, 2021), ECF No. 1-1; Joy Sharon Yi and Kate Woodsome, “How the Capitol Attack Unfolded, from Inside Trump’s Rally to the Riot | Opinion,” The Washington Post, at 1:32–1:42, (Jan. 12, 2021), available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/opinions/how-the-capitol-attack-unfolded-from-inside-trumps-rally-to-the-riot-opinion/2021/01/12/a7146251-b076-426e-a2e3-8b503692c89d_video.html.

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Leaders of the “Stop the Steal” movement continued to incite the crowd during the march as well. Alex Jones of InfoWars arrived at the Ellipse shortly before 9:00 a.m. on the morning of January 6th.107 Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Caroline Wren Production), REVU_000474 (Jan. 6, 2021, Alex Jones text message to Caroline Wren). After some initial difficulty gaining access to the event area, Jones was seated in the VIP section.108 Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Caroline Wren Production), REVU_000474 (Jan. 6, 2021, Alex Jones text message to Caroline Wren). While Jones stayed to listen to a portion of President Trump’s speech, planning for the crowd’s march to the Capitol was already underway and Jones intended to leave the Ellipse early to lead the march. The origins of the plan to have Jones lead the march are unclear. Jones has publicly stated that “the White House told me three days before, we are going to have you lead the March.”109 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Alexander Jones, (Jan. 24, 2022), Exhibit 13 at 0:29 (excerpt from The Alex Jones Show on Jan. 7, 2022). Stop the Steal’s Ali Alexander also believed “the White House” wanted him to lead a march to the Capitol.110 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Caroline Wren, (Dec. 17, 2021), pp. 260–61. It is likely that both got that idea from Caroline Wren, a Republican fundraiser who helped organize the Ellipse event.111 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Caroline Wren, (Dec. 17, 2021), pp. 260–61; See generally The Alex Jones Show, “Humanity is Carrying Out its Own Great Reset Against Planet’s Corrupt Elite - FULL SHOW 1/24/22,” Banned.Video, at 37:00, Jan. 24, 2022, available at https://banned.video/watch?id=61ef3e9d186875155e97ece8&list=5d81058ce2ea200013c01580. Jones texted Wren at 12:27 p.m., asking when he should leave the Ellipse and begin the march.112 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Alexander Jones, (Jan. 24, 2022), Ex. 13 at 0:29 (Excerpt from The Alex Jones Show on Jan. 7, 2022); Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Caroline Wren Production), REVU_000475 (Jan. 6, 2021, Alex Jones text message to Caroline Wren); Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Caroline Wren Production), REVU_000484 (Jan. 5, 2021, Tim Enlow text message to Caroline Wren).

While Wren originally expected Jones, Roger Stone, and retired Lt. Gen. Flynn to march to the Capitol, Stone did not attend the Ellipse rally and so he was not present to accompany Jones on the march as planned.113 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Caroline Wren, (Dec. 17, 2021), p. 244. Additionally, while President Trump was delivering his speech, Wren asked Flynn if he was going to march with Jones. Flynn responded, “Hell, no. It’s freezing.”114 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Caroline Wren, (Dec. 17, 2021), p. 244. While Stone and Flynn did not march, Jones and Alexander led others to the Capitol, though it is not clear how many people followed them.115 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Caroline Wren, (Dec. 17, 2021), p. 244. Jones and Alexander gathered with Jones’s camera and security crew just outside the event perimeter, near Freedom Plaza, to discuss their plans.116 The Alex Jones Show, “Humanity is Carrying Out its Own Great Reset Against Planet’s Corrupt Elite - FULL SHOW 1/24/22,” Banned.Video, at 37:00, Jan. 24, 2022, available at https://banned.video/watch?id=61ef3e9d186875155e97ece8&list=5d81058ce2ea200013c01580. The discussion, recorded by Alex Jones’s film crew, sheds some light on what Jones and Alexander knew about the President’s plans and what they intended for the march. The group, which included InfoWars host Owen Shroyer, huddled outside the Ellipse security perimeter to discuss how best to proceed. They tried to predict the Presidential motorcade’s route to the Capitol. The video shows Alex Jones telling his crew, “I think the Wren lady, where’s she at? She knows what they said they were going to do. Everything she’s said has been accurate, so we need to call her real quick.”117 The Alex Jones Show, “Humanity is Carrying Out its Own Great Reset Against Planet’s Corrupt Elite - FULL SHOW 1/24/22,” Banned.Video, at 37:44, Jan. 24, 2022, available at https://banned.video/watch?id=61ef3e9d186875155e97ece8&list=5d81058ce2ea200013c01580. They then decided to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, as the President had directed in his speech.

Alex Jones uses a bullhorn to speak to crowd on January 6, 2021. Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images

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Proud Boys were among the crowd Jones gathered during his march. Matthew Walter, president of a Tennessee chapter of the organization,122 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Matthew Walter, (Mar. 9, 2022), p. 78. was near the National Mall with two other Proud Boys from Tennessee and decided to join Jones.123 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Matthew Walter, (Mar. 9, 2022), p. 75. Other, more prominent members of the Proud Boys appear to have been in contact with Jones and Shroyer about the events of January 6th and on that day. Records for Enrique Tarrio’s phone show that while the attack on the Capitol was ongoing, he texted with Jones three times and Shroyer five times.124 Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Google Voice Production, Feb. 25, 2022). Ethan Nordean’s phone records reflect that he exchanged 23 text messages with Shroyer between January 4th and 5th, and that he had one call with him on each of those days.125 Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Verizon Production, Nov. 19, 2021). Records of Joseph Biggs’s communications show that he texted with Shroyer eight times on January 4th and called him at approximately 11:15 a.m. on January 6th, while Biggs and his fellow Proud Boys were marching at and around the Capitol.126 Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (AT&T Production, Nov. 24, 2021).

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Once they had marched the length of Pennsylvania Avenue and reached the west side of the Capitol, Jones and Alexander used a bullhorn to continue directing those around them to the east side, making further references to President Trump’s alleged imminent arrival. A video recorded by a rallygoer at 1:51 p.m. shows Jones and Alexander standing together as Jones encourages the crowd to proceed to the east side of the Capitol. He tells those listening that “we’ve got a permit on the other side, it’s great that this happened, but Trump’s not going to come when we’ve taken this over. We are not Antifa, we are not BLM.”127 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Alexander Jones, (Jan. 24, 2022), Exhibit 12 at 0:20.

Jones has repeatedly claimed that he tried to calm the crowd, but his actions also coincided with two police line breaches and one breach of the Capitol building itself. At 1:57 p.m., minutes after Jones encouraged rally goers to move east, newly arrived protestors breached the bike rack fencing used to keep the crowd away from the east side steps.128 Lena Groeger, Jeff Kao, Al Shaw, Moiz Syed and Maya Eliahou, “What Parler Saw During the Attack on the Capitol,” ProPublica, (Jan. 17, 2021), available at https://projects.propublica.org/parler-capitol-videos/?id=HS34fpbzqg2b. After the breach, police retreated to the base of the large set of steps behind them and the crowd moved forward to meet the newly established police line.129 Lena Groeger, Jeff Kao, Al Shaw, Moiz Syed and Maya Eliahou, “What Parler Saw During the Attack on the Capitol,” ProPublica, (Jan. 17, 2021), available at https://projects.propublica.org/parler-capitol-videos/?id=Qo3hom0Qb1at.

Jones followed shortly behind the crowd that led the initial east fence breach, and his arrival coincided with the next breach up the east stairs. Publicly available video shows Jones already departed from the west side, rounding the north side of the Capitol on the way to the east side at 2:00 p.m.130 Lena Groeger, Jeff Kao, Al Shaw, Moiz Syed and Maya Eliahou, “What Parler Saw During the Attack on the Capitol,” ProPublica, (Jan. 17, 2021), available at https://projects.propublica.org/parler-capitol-videos/?id=QgPXUnbdhx3q. As he was walking, Jones told his group, “those fucking cops need to fucking back off man.”131 Lena Groeger, Jeff Kao, Al Shaw, Moiz Syed and Maya Eliahou, “What Parler Saw During the Attack on the Capitol,” ProPublica, (Jan. 17, 2021), available at https://projects.propublica.org/parler-capitol-videos/?id=QgPXUnbdhx3q. He was then asked about Vice President Pence, to which Jones responded: “he floundered and was neutral, he passed the ball.”132 Lena Groeger, Jeff Kao, Al Shaw, Moiz Syed and Maya Eliahou, “What Parler Saw During the Attack on the Capitol,” ProPublica, (Jan. 17, 2021), available at https://projects.propublica.org/parler-capitol-videos/?id=QgPXUnbdhx3q. At the conclusion of the video, one of Jones’s camera crew can be heard saying, “let’s take a break here. Let me talk to this cop to see if I can get Alex up there to deescalate the situation.” Other video released by Jones shows one of his camera crew interacting with USCP officers and asking how Jones can help deescalate the situation.133 Jan. 6th Protest and Save America March, “Raw BodyCam: Watch As Alex Jones Works With Capitol Police To Try And Quell The Riot,” Banned.Video, at 8:45, Jan. 12, 2021, available at https://banned.video/watch?id=5ffe25bc0d763c3dca0c4da1. The Select Committee’s review of the evidence showed that Jones simultaneously called on the crowd to “fight” and start a “revolution,” while occasionally peppering his rhetoric with the word “peacefully.”

Minutes after Jones’s arrival on the scene, at approximately 2:06 p.m., rioters breached the new police line and stormed up the stairs towards the Columbus Doors (also known as the Rotunda Doors).134 Lena Groeger, Jeff Kao, Al Shaw, Moiz Syed and Maya Eliahou, “What Parler Saw During the Attack on the Capitol,” ProPublica, (Jan. 17, 2021), available at https://projects.propublica.org/parler-capitol-videos/?id=a8lp9oooOT3m. The crowd’s cheers and celebration as they move up the steps can be heard while Jones’s camera crew negotiates with USCP officers nearby.135 Jan. 6th Protest and Save America March, “Raw BodyCam: Watch as Alex Jones Works with Capitol Police To Try And Quell The Riot,” Banned.Video, at 15:10, Jan. 12, 2021, available at https://Banned.Video/watch?id=5ffe25bc0d763c3dca0c4da1. As explained below, the rioters broke through another key breach point with Jones and Alexander on the scene just minutes later.

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