Trump planned to call on his supporters to march to the Capitol on January 6, according to a draft tweet
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
- Trump drafted a tweet that called on his supporters to march to the Capitol on January 6.
- "Please arrive early, massive crowds expected. March to the Capitol after. Stop the Steal!!" Trump wrote.
- The draft tweet and other messages prove that the march to the Capitol was planned, per the Jan. 6 committee.
The House committee investigating the Capitol riot on Tuesday revealed a draft tweet in which President Donald Trump called on his supporters to go to the US Capitol after his speech on January 6, 2021.
"I will be making a Big Speech at 10AM on January 6th at the Ellipse (South of the White House). Please arrive early, massive crowds expected. March to the Capitol after. Stop the Steal!!" Trump wrote in the draft tweet, which is undated.
Trump never sent the tweet, but its existence, along with other messages exchanged between rally organizers, offer proof that the march to the Capitol was premeditated, the January 6 committee said.
Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida presented the evidence during Tuesday's hearing, and said: "The evidence confirms that this was not a spontaneous call to action, but rather it was a deliberate strategy decided upon in advance by the president."
Ultimately, Trump encouraged his supporters to head to the Capitol after he finished his speech at the Ellipse.
But, the committee said, rally organizers had been in touch with others in Trump's orbit discussing plans for that day.
"This stays only between us, we are having a second stage at the Supreme Court again after the ellipse. POTUS is going to have us march there/the Capitol," Kylie Kremer, a rally organizer, texted MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a Trump ally, on January 4.
"It cannot get out about the second stage because people will try and set up another and Sabotage it. It can also not get out about the march because I will be in trouble with the national park service and all the agencies but the POTUS is going to just call for it 'unexpectedly,'" the message continued.
Another "Stop the Steal" rally organizer, Ali Alexander, texted a conservative journalist on January 5 about plans to go to the Capitol following Trump's speech.
"Tomorrow: Ellipse then US capitol. Trump is supposed to order us to the capitol at the end of his speech but we will see," Alexander wrote.