Jan. 6 rioters attack police. Credit Wikipedia-Public Domain
by Melisaundra Welles
Trump Lied Repeatedly to His Supporters that He Had Won the Election
Despite his efforts, Trump lost the 2020 election by 7 million votes.[i] Still, at approximately 2:30 a.m. on November 4, 2020 (while the count was ongoing), Trump strode to the East Room of the White House and falsely claimed that he had won the election. “We were winning everything,” he said, “and all of a sudden it was just called off…We’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop…This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election.”[ii]
Trump knew it was too early to make that claim. In fact, his premature proclamation of a victory had literally been planned for weeks. Even before Election Day, Steve Bannon, a close Trump ally, told some of his associates on October 31, 2020, that Trump planned to “declare victory on election night—even if he was losing.” Bannon said, “What Trump’s gonna do is just declare victory. Right?”…“But that doesn’t mean he’s a winner.”…“He’s just gonna say he’s a winner.[iii]
That’s exactly what he did.
Determined to stay in power, Trump and his cronies devised a variety of nefarious ways to overturn the election results. They contacted election officials in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania to pressure them to change the vote totals in their states to give Trump a win. In a call to Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Trump pressured the official to find him “11,780 votes,”[iv] which he said he’d need to win the state. But there were no votes to be found; Trump had lost in the State of Georgia, and Raffensperger refused to lie about it. The officials in the other states did the same.
Once those state officials stood their ground, Trump’s lawyers recruited fake electors in seven states to sign false certificates stating that Trump had won in their states.[v] Those false certificates were sent to Congress and the National Archives, hopefully to create confusion and delay (or completely deny) the confirmation of Joe Biden’s presidential win.
Meanwhile, attorneys and allies continued to file over 60 frivolous election-related cases in various courts on Trump’s behalf. Judges appointed by both Democrat and Republican presidents reviewed the cases alleging election fraud and voting irregularities. Some of the cases were dropped before a court could rule on them. Others were dismissed because they lacked standing, evidence, or merit. Either way, Trump lost at least 61 cases.[vi]
In a U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals case in which Trump’s campaign sought to invalidate Pennsylvania's election results, Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote in his decision that “Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here."[vii]
Sprinkled in with all of Trump’s and his allies’ high jinks were various conspiracy theories and strange audits conducted by the Cyber Ninjas. At the end of the day, however, it was determined that there had been no widespread voter fraud. There were no bamboo ballots flown in from Asia.[viii] There was no rigged Dominion or Smartmatic technology.[ix] No USB drive was passed between Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.[x] Dinesh D’Souza used faulty data and analyses to produce his movie “2000 Mules.”[xi] And there was no last minute dump of illegal ballots that robbed Donald Trump of a second-term presidency.[xii]
Trump pretended he actually believed he’d won the election, but he didn’t. Too many people, including his Vice President, the U.S. Attorney General, White House attorneys, the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Homeland Security, his senior campaign staff, and two firms he’d hired to investigate election fraud claims, all had told him—in one way or another—that he didn’t win. Trump simply wanted to hold onto the power of the White House.
Knowing full well that he hadn’t won the election, Trump became laser-focused on January 6th, the date constitutionally set for Congress to certify election results. That would be his last opportunity to overturn the election and remain in power. As that date approached, Trump deliberately and consistently promoted the idea that the election had been stolen and that President Biden’s win was fraudulent. Via a tweet, Trump encouraged his supporters (including those he knew to be militant), to come to Washington, DC to participate in a protest that he promised would be “wild.”
“Wild” was an understatement. Some supporters came to the protest armed with weapons and wearing body armor. A Secret Service agent made Trump aware of it, but Trump didn’t care. In fact, he wanted those protesters closer to fill in empty spaces at the Ellipse. He demanded that the magnetometers be removed because the protestors were, “not here to hurt me,” he said. “Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here, let the people in and take the mags away.”[xiii]
In his speech on the Ellipse, Trump told the crowd that the states had been defrauded and wanted to “revote.” He told them that “All Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify…” He told them that he hoped that “Mike is going to do the right thing.”[xiv]
Trump continued to manipulate the crowd by asserting that radical-left Democrats and the fake news media were stealing their election victory. “[T]his year, he said, “using the pretext of the China virus and the scam of mail-in ballots, Democrats attempted the most brazen and outrageous election theft and there's never been anything like this.”
Trump said he’d be challenging the certification of the election…“We must stop the steal,” he urged, “and then we must ensure that such outrageous election fraud never happens again, can never be allowed to happen again.”
Later, after stoking the crowd’s anger with his antagonistic rhetoric, he pointed his supporters toward the Capitol, claiming they were going there to give weak Republicans (Congress-members) “the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”
Trump never made it to the Capitol with the others, but he watched them gleefully on TV,[xv] as they broke through police barriers, scaled the Capitol’s walls, breached the Capitol building and injured approximately 140 police officers.
Trump’s Conduct During the Riot
Mike Pence knew Trump had lied when he told the crowd that he could send the certifications back to the states for a revote. Pence knew his role was ceremonial and that he had “no unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.”[xvi] Fortunately, Pence did his job and counted the certifications presented properly before the joint session of Congress. By doing so, he ensured that Trump’s fake electors scheme had failed.
Of course, Trump was displeased. At 2:24 p.m., while the rioters were attacking the Capitol, Trump tweeted his supporters, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving the States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”[xvii]
That tweet added fuel to the fire, and the rioters began chanting, “Hang Mike Pence” around the gallows and throughout the crowd. Trump watched the violence play out on TV. Aides, family members, and advisors urged him to tell his supporters to leave the Capitol.
At 2:38 p.m., Trump sent a tweet telling the rioters to support the Capitol Police and Law Enforcement and to “stay peaceful.” But he didn’t tell them to leave, although he knew they were in no way being peaceful. At 3:13 p.m., he sent another tweet telling the rioters to “remain peaceful.” Again, he didn’t tell them to stop and leave the Capitol. It wasn’t until 4:17 p.m. that Trump posted a video telling the rioters that they were special, that he understood their pain, but that they needed to “go home and go in peace.”
At 6:01 p.m., Trump sent another tweet to the rioters, saying: "These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!"[xviii]
Throughout the whole ordeal, Trump failed to send the National Guard to the Capitol. He’s often claimed that he offered to send troops, but Nancy Pelosi had rejected them. That’s untrue. Ultimately, it was Pence who requested that the DC National Guard be sent to support the police at the Capitol.[xix]
The Fallout
Over $2.8 million of losses were incurred at the Capitol due to the Jan. 6 riot. As for the rioters, over 1,488 of them have been charged with various offenses, and 562 of those have been incarcerated. Others have been given lesser sentences, including home detentions. The DOJ continues its hunt for additional rioters.[xx]
Moreover, lawyers well-known for filing abusive pleadings or otherwise participating in the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election currently are contending with legal ramifications. Among those lawyers are Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Jeffrey Clark, Sydney Powell and Jenna Ellis who are facing charges, suspensions and/or disbarment.[xxi] Lin Wood, who also faced sanctions and possible dis-barment, retired and surrendered his law license in 2023.
On October 3, 2024, Tina Peterson, a former Mesa County (CO) Clerk, was sentenced to serve 9 years for “first-degree official misconduct” and other election offenses. Peterson, a promoter of the “rigged voting machine” conspiracy, allowed an unauthorized random man connected to Mike Lindell (the My Pillow guy), to misuse a security badge to access a voting machine and the Mesa County election system.[xxii]
Some fake electors also face charges. While some states were lenient, almost every fake elector in Arizona, Michigan and Nevada have been charged with felonies.
Trump’s lies have had a long reach in his attempt to eradicate democracy and become the first dictator in U.S. history. Many people who latched onto his coattails have ended up in a pit of disaster and are paying a heavy price. But Trump’s still there—smiling—as supporters wreck their own lives, pay their hard-earned money for his trinkets, and, through blind faith, may be gearing up to overturn the next United States election.
[i] “Election Results 2020,” Ballotpedia, https://ballotpedia.org/Election_results,_2020. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
[ii] “Trump tries to claim victory, even as ballots are being counted in several states—NBC has not made a call,” Wilkie, Christina https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/04/trump-tries-to-claim-victory-even-as-ballots-are-being-counted-in-several-states-nbc-has-not-made-a-call.html. November 4, 2020. Updated November 6, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
[iii] “Leaked Audio, Trump planned to falsely claim victory, according to Bannon,” Mother Jones, https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=steve+bannon+tells+associates+trump+would+declare+victory. See also, Leaked Audio: Before Election Day, Bannon Said Trump Planned to Falsely Claim Victory,” Friedman, D., Mother Jones, https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/leaked-audio-steve-bannon-trump-2020-election-declare-victory/. July 12, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2024.”
[iv] “Full Phone Call: Trump Pressures Georgia Secretary of State To Recount Election Votes,” NBC News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW_Bdf_jGaA. Retrieved October 3, 2024. See also “Flashback: The call that got Trump in trouble in Georgia,” Knutson, J., Axios, https://www.axios.com/2023/08/15/ trump-georgia-election-interference-call. August 14, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
[v] “How the Trump fake electors scheme became a ‘corrupt plan,’ according to the indictment,” Amiri, F., AP, https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-jan-6-investigation-fake-electors-608932d4771f6e2e3c5efb3fdcd8fcce. December 18, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
[vi] “Results of Lawsuits Concerning the 2020 Elections,” Campaign Legal Center, https://campaignlegal.org/results-lawsuits-regarding-2020-elections. Retrieved October 11, 2024. See also “Donald Trump falsely claimed in Tuesday night's presidential debate that all of his election lawsuits failed in 2020 only on ‘a technicality,’” Mansfield, E., USA Today, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/09/10/donald-trump-2020-election-claims-fact-check/75168089007/. September 10, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
[vii] “Trump loses appeal in Pennsylvania: ‘Calling an election unfair does not make it so,’” Watson, K., CBS News, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pennsylvania-appeal-loss-2020-election/. November 28, 2020. Retrieved Octoer 11, 2024.
[viii] “Arizona’s dangerous vote audit includes a hunt for bamboo,” Douglas, J.A., CNN, https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/07/ opinions/arizona-dangerous-audit-destabilize-democracy-douglas/index.html, May 7, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2024. See also “So now it’s bamboo in the ballots? Are there are [sic] any limits to the Senate’s audit lunacy?” Roberts, L., The Arizona Republic, https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2021/05/06/arizona-election-audit-now-searching-bamboo-our-ballots/4974025001/. May 6, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2024; and “Cyber Ninjas, firm that led GOP review of Arizona’s 2020 election results, shuts down,” Navarro, A., CBS News, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ cyber-ninjas-shuts-down-arizona-audit/. January 7, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
[ix] “Fox, Dominion reach $787M settlement over election claims,” Bauder, D., Chase, R. and Mulvihill, G., AP News, https://apnews.com/article/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-trial-trump-2020-0ac71f75acfacc52ea80b3e747fb0afe. April 18, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2024. See also “Voting machine company Smartmatic and OANN settle defamation suit,” Timm, J.C., NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/voting-machine-company-smartmatic-oann-settle-defamation-suit-rcna148148. April 17, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
[x] “‘USB drive’ Giulani claimed was passed between election workers was really a ginger mint, Witness tells Jan. 6 hearing,” Marcus, J., The Independent, https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/giuliani-trump-voter-fraud-usb-b2106364.html. June 21, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2024. See also “Jury in Federal Court Awards Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss $148,169,000 in Damages,” Protect Democracy, https://protectdemocracy.org/ work/freeman-moss-giuliani-verdict/. December 15, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2024 .
[xi] “FACT FOCUS: Gaping holes in the claim of 2K ballot ‘mules,’” Swenson, A., AP, https://apnews.com/ article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-technology-health-arizona-e1b49d2311bf900f44fa5c6dac406762. May 3, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
[xii] “Trump ignores facts with claims of improper ‘vote dumps,’” Williams, P., NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/ politics/ 2020-election/trump-ignores-facts-claim-improper-vote-dumps-n1249987. December 4, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
[xiii] “Trump knew crowd at rally was armed yet demanded they be allowed to march,” Pengelly, M., The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/28/trump-jan-6-rally-guns-capitol-attack. June 28, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
[xiv] “Read Trump’s Jan. 6th Speech, A Key Part of Impreachment Trial,” Naylor, B., NPR, https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/ 966396848/read-trumps-jan-6-speech-a-key-part-of-impeachment-trial. February 10, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
[xv] “Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham says Trump was ‘gleefully watching the January 6 riot on TV and ‘hitting rewind,’” Seddiq, O., Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/stephanie-grisham-trump-was-gleefully-watching-the-january-6-riot-2022-1. January 6, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
[xvi] “Read Pence’s full letter saying he can’t claim ‘unilateral authority’ to reject electoral votes,” Politics, PBS, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-pences-full-letter-saying-he-cant-claim-unilateral-authority-to-reject-electoral-votes. January 6, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
[xvii] “A minute-by-minute timeline of Trump’s day as the Capitol siege unfolded on Jan. 6,” Subramanian, C., USA Today, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/11/trump-impeachment-trial-timeline-trump-actions-during-capitol-riot/6720727002/. February 11, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
[xviii] Id.
[xix] “Pence took lead as Trump initially resisted sending National Guard,” Collins, K., Cohen, Z., Starr, B. and Hansler, J., CNN, https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/pence-national-guard/index.html. January 7, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
[xx] “43 Months Since the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol,” United States Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/43-months-jan-6-attack-capitol. Updated August 6, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
[xxi] “Jenna Ellis Takes Plea Deal: Here Are All The Other Ex-Trump Lawyers Now Facing Legal Consequences.” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/08/06/kenneth-chesebro-charged-in-wisconsin-here-are-all-the-former-trump-lawyers-now-facing-legal-consequences/. August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
[xxii] “Tina Peters’ sentence draws applause and outrage. Supporters call her a ‘hero,’ judge calls her a ‘charlatan.’” https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/former-county-clerk-tina-peters-sentence-scheme-draw-condemnation/. October 5, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.