Chapter 6. “BE THERE, WILL BE WILD!”
Chapter 6. “BE THERE, WILL BE WILD!”
¶On December 14, 2020, electors around the country met to cast their Electoral College votes. Their vote ensured former Vice President Joe Biden’s victory and cemented President Donald J. Trump’s defeat. The people, and the States, had spoken. Members of President Trump’s own Cabinet knew the election was over. Attorney General William Barr viewed it as “the end of the matter.”1 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of William Barr, (June 2, 2022), p. 62. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia concurred.2 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of William Barr, (June 2, 2022), pp. 27,62; Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Michael Pompeo, (Aug. 9, 2022), p. 30; Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Eugene Scalia, (June 30, 2022), p. 11. That same day, Scalia told President Trump directly that he should concede defeat.3 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Eugene Scalia, (June 30, 2022), p. 11. Others throughout the White House similarly recognized that December 14 was a milestone in America’s constitutional process, and it was time for the President to move on. But it was not just members of President Trump’s Cabinet who viewed that the election was over, and that President Trump had lost by December 14—President Trump’s top advisors at the White House came to similar conclusions. For example, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone agreed with Senator McConnell’s December 15th comments on the Senate floor and viewed the process for challenging the election as “done.” See Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Pasquale Anthony “Pat” Cipollone, (July 8, 2022), p. 73. White House Deputy Press Secretary and Deputy Assistant to the President Judd Deere also recognized the significance of the electoral college vote in determining the president and vice president and conveyed this to President Trump. He also advised him to concede. See Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Judson P. Deere, (Mar. 3, 2022), pp. 23-25. White House Advisor Ivanka Trump viewed the electoral college vote as important and had already started planning for leaving the administration prior to then. See Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Ivanka Trump, (Apr. 5, 2022), p. 193. White House Advisor Jared Kushner similarly viewed that day as “significant.” Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Jared Kushner, (Mar. 31, 2022), p. 107.
¶President Trump had no intention of conceding. As he plotted ways to stay in power, the President summoned a mob for help.
¶At 1:42 a.m., on December 19th, President Trump tweeted: “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”4 President Trump’s full tweet read: “Peter Navarro releases 36-page report alleging election fraud ‘more than sufficient’ to swing victory to Trump https://t.co/D8KrMHnFdK. A great report by Peter. Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” President Donald J. Trump: Tweets of December 19, 2020, The American Presidency Project, available at https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/tweets-december-19-2020.
¶The President’s tweet galvanized tens of thousands of his supporters around the country. President Trump had been lying to them since election day, claiming he won, and that the Democrats had stolen victory from him. Now, with a single tweet, the President focused his supporters’ anger on the joint session of Congress in Washington, DC on January 6th.
¶For many extremists and conspiracy theorists, the President’s announcement was a call to arms.7 The President’s call to action quickly reverberated beyond Twitter and spread across the internet. On one social networking site, Discord, a forum called “DonaldsArmy.US” erupted in the hours after the tweet, with users seeing it as a “call to action” and beginning to organize travel plans to D.C., including by discussing how and whether to evade DC gun restrictions and bring firearms into the city. See Summary Memorandum from Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Briefing with Discord, (July 29, 2022); see also Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Discord Production), JAN6C_DIS_000269 (Memo from Discord titled “DonaldsArmy.US and BASEDMedia.”).
¶For the Proud Boys—described in more detail below—and their leader, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, President Trump’s tweet set in motion a chain of events that led directly to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. In the days that followed, the Proud Boys reorganized their hierarchy, imposed a stricter chain-of-command, and instructed followers to go “incognito” on January 6th.8 Second Superseding Indictment at ¶ 28, United States v. Nordean et al., No. 1:1:21-cr-175 (D.D.C. Mar. 7, 2022), ECF No. 305. The Proud Boys had made their presence known at previous pro-Trump events, including “Stop the Steal” rallies, where they brandished their black and yellow apparel and engaged in street brawls.9 See, e.g., Ian Ward, “How a D.C. Bar Became the ‘Haven’ for the Proud Boys,” Politico, (Dec. 14, 2020), available at https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/14/harrys-bar-proud-boys-washington-dc-445015. Suddenly, they did not want to stand out from the crowd. They wanted to blend in. They were planning something big.10 Second Superseding Indictment at ¶37, United States v. Nordean et al., No. 1:21-cr-175 (D.D.C. Mar. 7, 2022), ECF No. 305 (citing Tarrio’s message to the Proud Boys on December 29, 2020, that they would "not be wearing our traditional Black and Yellow" on January 6th; they would "be incognito.").
500¶Tarrio allegedly used encrypted messages to plot the January 6, 2021, attack. On January 4, 2021, Tarrio told his men that they should “storm the Capitol.”11 Second Superseding Indictment at ¶ 50, United States v. Nordean et al., No. 1:1:21-cr-175 (D.D.C. Mar. 7, 2022), ECF No. 305. While the attack was underway, Tarrio claimed credit in a private chat, writing: “We did this.”12 Second Superseding Indictment at ¶ 100, United States v. Nordean et al., No. 1:1:21-cr-175 (D.D.C. Mar. 7, 2022), ECF No. 305. And on the evening of January 6th, Tarrio released a video of a man, presumably Tarrio himself, dressed in an odd costume standing in front of the U.S. Capitol. The eerie production had been recorded prior to the events of that day. Tarrio—who was not in Washington, DC on January 6th13 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Henry Tarrio, (Feb. 4, 2022), pp. 83-84.—titled it, “Premonition.”14 Second Superseding Indictment at ¶ 107, United States v. Nordean et al., No. 1:21-cr-175 (D.D.C. Mar. 7, 2022), ECF No. 305. The Oath Keepers, a far-right, anti-government militia movement—also described in more detail below—began planning for January 6th after the President’s tweet as well. Stewart Rhodes, the group’s leader, had agitated against the U.S. Government for years.15 See, e.g., Mike Levine, “How A Standoff in Nevada Years Ago Set The Militia Movement on A Crash Course with The US Capitol,” ABC News, (Jan. 5, 2022), available at https://abcnews.go.com/US/standoff-nevada-years-ago-set-militia-movement-crash/story?id=82051940. Immediately following the 2020 presidential election, Rhodes and others schemed to stop the peaceful transfer of power. They stored weapons outside of Washington, DC,16 Indictment at ¶¶ 67, 68, United States v. Rhodes, III, et al., No. 22-cr-15 (D.D.C. June 22, 2022), ECF No. 167. hoping that President Trump would deputize them as his own militia.17 See Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Elmer Stewart Rhodes, (Feb. 22, 2022), pp. 132,134; Stewart Rhodes and Kellye SoRelle, “Open Letter to President Trump: You Must Use the Insurrection Act to ‘Stop the Steal’ and Defeat the Coup,” Oathkeepers.org, (Dec. 14, 2020), available at https://web.archive.org/web/20210123133022/https:/oathkeepers.org/2020/12/open-letter-to-president-trump-you-must-use-insurrection-act-to-stop-the-steal-and-defeat-the-coup/ (archived). Jason Van Tatenhove, the former spokesman of the Oath Keepers described how he suspected that Rhodes saw the Insurrection Act as a blank check: “He could pretty much do whatever he wanted, and [President Trump] could install Stewart and the Oath Keepers as some sort of security force that would bring them real legitimacy and political power.” Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Jason Van Tatenhove, (Mar. 9, 2022), p. 73. An Oath Keeper leader, Kelly Meggs, read President Trump’s December 19th tweet and commented in a Facebook message: “He called us all to the Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!! Sir Yes Sir!!!”18 Third Superseding Indictment at ¶ 37, United States v. Crowl et al., No. 1:21-cr-28 (D.D.C., Mar. 31, 2021), ECF No. 127. The Oath Keepers formed two military “stacks” and marched up the steps of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Meggs led one of them.19 Third Superseding Indictment at ¶ 95-99, United States v. Crowl et al., No. 1:21-cr-28 (D.D.C., Mar. 31, 2021), ECF No. 127.
¶Tarrio’s video appears on a screen during a Select Committee hearing on June 09, 2022. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
501¶Members of both the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have been charged with “seditious conspiracy” and other serious crimes, including conspiracy to interfere with a Federal proceeding; some, including Stewart Rhodes, have been convicted.20 Trial Transcript at 10502-508, United States v. Rhodes et al., No. 1:22-cr-15 (D.D.C. Nov. 29, 2022); Alan Feuer and Zach Montague, “Oath Keepers Leader Convicted of Sedition in Landmark Jan. 6 Case,” New York Times, (Nov. 29, 2022), available at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/us/politics/oath-keepers-trial-verdict-jan-6.html. U.S. law defines seditious conspiracy as plotting “to overthrow,” or “to oppose by force,” or to use “force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States.”21 18 U.S.C. § 2384. Some of the two groups’ members have already admitted that this is what they intended to do.22 For example, one Proud Boy, Jeremy Bertino, pleaded guilty to “seditious conspiracy” and other crimes in October 2022. Bertino admitted to authorities that the Proud Boys traveled to Washington on January 6, 2021, “to stop the certification of the Electoral College Vote.” They “were willing to do whatever it would take, including using force against police and others, to achieve that objective.” See “Former Leader of Proud Boys Pleads Guilty to Seditious Conspiracy for Efforts to Stop Transfer of Power Following 2020 Presidential Election,” Department of Justice, (Oct. 6, 2022), available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-leader-proud-boys-pleads-guilty-seditious-conspiracy-efforts-stop-transfer-power.
¶Other extremists and conspiracy theorists mobilized after President Trump’s tweet as well. These movements are described in more detail in subsequent sections. Three Percenter militias—another far-right, anti-government movement—shared “#OccupyCongress” memes23 Criminal Complaint at 10-11, United States v. Hazard, No. 1:21-mj-868 (D.D.C. Dec. 7, 2021), ECF No. 1. and planned for violence at the U.S. Capitol.24 See, e.g., Indictment at ¶¶ 34-37, United States v. Hostetter et al., No. 1:21-cr-392 (D.D.C. June 9, 2021), ECF No. 1. Nick Fuentes, leader of the white nationalist “Groypers,” rallied his followers for January 6th.25 Malachi Barrett, “Far-Right Activist Who Encouraged U.S. Capitol Occupation Also Organized ‘Stop the Steal’ Rally in Michigan,” Mlive, (Jan. 7, 2021), available at https://www.mlive.com/politics/2021/01/far-right-activist-who-encouraged-us-capitol-occupation-also-organized-stop-the-steal-rally-in-michigan.html. Fuentes bragged afterwards that the “Capitol siege was fucking awesome.”26 Nicholas J. Fuentes (@NickJFuentes), Twitter, Jan. 7, 2021 10:56 p.m. ET, available at https://web.archive.org/web/20210107185745/https://twitter.com/NickJFuentes/status/1347255833516765185 (archived). Users on TheDonald.win, a website populated by some of President Trump’s most ardent fans, openly discussed surrounding and occupying the U.S. Capitol.27 Ken Dilanian and Ben Collins, “There Are Hundreds of Posts About Plans to Attack the Capitol. Why Hasn’t This Evidence Been Used in Court?,” NBC News, (Apr. 20, 2021), available at https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/we-found-hundreds-posts-about-plans-attack-capitol-why-aren-n1264291.
¶Adherents of QAnon, a bizarre and dangerous conspiracy cult, believed January 6th would bring the prophesied “Storm” — a violent purge of Democrats and government officials promised by the mysterious online personality known only as “Q.”28 Statement of Mike Rothschild, (Mar. 23, 2022), at pp. 3-6. QAnon’s devotees flocked to Washington, DC because of the President’s tweet and subsequent rhetoric. They shared a digital banner, “Operation Occupy the Capitol,” which depicted the U.S. Capitol being torn in two.29 See, “NCRI Assessment of The Capitol Riots,” Rutgers Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience,” Network Contagion Research Institute, (Jan. 9, 2021) available at https://millercenter.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/NCRI-Assessment-of-the-Capitol-Riots-1.pdf.
¶One especially notorious conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones, repeatedly told his InfoWars’ viewers that January 6th would be a day of reckoning.30 “Breaking: Trump Calls for Americans to March on DC January 6 to Stop Foreign Takeover,” InfoWars, (Dec. 19, 2020), (archived) 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/. Jones is known for his outlandish conspiracy-mongering, including his baseless claim that the massacre of school children at Sandy Hook Elementary School was really a “false flag” operation staged by the U.S. Government. Of course, his vicious lie was disproven in court, but Jones is obsessed with “deep state” conspiracy theories and often propagates them.31 Jacob Knutson, “Jury Orders Alex Jones to Pay Nearly $1 Billion in Sandy Hook Defamation Trial,” Axios, (Oct. 12, 2022), available at https://www.axios.com/2022/10/12/alex-jones-sandy-hook-defamation-trial. After the 2020 presidential election, Jones argued that President Trump should use the power of the Government to impose martial law on American citizens.32 “The Alex Jones Show,” Prison Planet TV, at 21:53, Dec. 20, 2020, available at http://tv.infowars.com/index/display/id/11151. Along with his InfoWars co-hosts, Jones amplified President Trump’s “Big Lie” and relentlessly promoted President Trump’s “wild” protest. One of Jones’ co-hosts floated the idea of “storming right into the Capitol.”33 Jones’s promotion of the January 6th event began almost immediately after the President’s tweet. See 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. Jones himself marched to the Capitol January 6th.34 See, Lena V. Groeger, Jeff Kao, Al Shaw, Moiz Syed, and Maya Eliahou, “What Parler Saw During the Attack on the Capitol,” Pro Publica, (Jan. 17, 2021), available at https://projects.propublica.org/parler-capitol-videos/?id=5OCkdwJRD0a3 (showing Alex Jones marching down Pennsylvania Avenue at 1:10 p.m.).
502¶Jones’s influence helped shape the planning for January 6th behind the scenes as well. The Select Committee investigated how event organizers and the White House staff planned President Trump’s rally at the Ellipse, a park south of the White House. This event was intended to rile up the President’s supporters just prior to the joint session of Congress. A wealthy heiress paid for the event after listening to Jones’ InfoWars rant about the importance of President Trump’s tweet. She spent $3 million with the goal to “get as many people there as possible.”35 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Caroline Wren, (Dec. 17, 2021), pp. 50, 70-71. It worked — Americans who believed the election was stolen flocked to the Nation’s capital.
¶By January 5th, President Trump’s supporters—a large, angry crowd ready for instructions—had assembled in Washington. That evening, he could hear his raucous supporters at a rally not far from the White House. The President knew his supporters were “angry,”36 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Judson P. Deere, (Mar. 3, 2022), p. 86. and he planned to call on them to march on the U.S. Capitol.37 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Cassidy Hutchinson, (Feb. 23, 2022), pp. 32-33, 41; Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Continued Interview of Cassidy Hutchinson, (June 20, 2022), pp. 107-108, 135. He even wanted to join them on the march.38 Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Judson P. Deere, (Mar. 3, 2022), pp. 70-71. It was all part of President Trump’s plan to intimidate officials and obstruct the joint session of Congress.
¶“We fight like hell,” President Trump told the crowd assembled at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021. “And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”39 Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Committee on Rules and Administration, 117th Congress, “Examining the U.S. Capitol Attack: A Review of the Security, Planning, and Response Failures on January 6” (Staff Report), (June 8, 2021), p. B-22. Some of those in attendance, as well as elsewhere in Washington that day, were already prepared to fight. They had begun preparing two and a half weeks earlier — when President Trump told them it would “be wild!”