Tag: Capitol Riots

Trump pleads not guilty to charges he tried to overturn 2020 elections

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He is accused of orchestrating a brazen and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to block the peaceful transfer of presidential power.

The former president appeared before a magistrate judge in Washington’s federal courthouse two days after being indicted by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith. 

Of the three criminal cases he’s facing, the most recent charges are especially historic since they focus on Trump’s efforts as president to subvert the will of voters and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. His refusal to accept defeat and his lies about widespread election fraud helped fuel the violent riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of supporters stormed the US Capitol.

Trump, who is now the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, sat stern-faced with his hands folded, shaking his head at times as he conferred with an attorney and occasionally glancing around the courtroom as his court appearance began. He stood up to enter his “not guilty” plea, answered perfunctory questions from the judge and thanked her at the conclusion of the arraignment.

His appearance Thursday unfolded – as will the rest of the case – in a downtown courthouse between the Capitol and the White House and in a building where more than 1,000 of the Capitol rioters have been charged by the Justice Department, which last November appointed Smith to lead a probe into the role of Trump and his allies in the events of that day.

The indictment charges Trump with four felony counts related to his efforts to undo his presidential election loss, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. The charges could lead to a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction, with the most serious counts calling for up to 20 years.

Smith himself attended the arraignment, sitting in the courtroom’s front row behind the prosecutors handling the case and about 20 feet away from Trump. He looked at times in Trump’s direction, though neither appeared to gesture at or talk to each other.

US Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya set the next court date for 28 August, when a tentative trial date will be set, and directed Trump not to communicate directly about the facts of case with any individual known to be a witness.

Three police officers who defended the Capitol that day were also seen entering the courthouse. One of them, Aquilino Gonell, who retired from the Capitol Police after suffering injuries, took stock of the location’s symbolism, noting that it was “the same court in which hundreds of rioters have been sentenced. It’s the same court former President Trump is being arraigned in today for his alleged involvement before, during, and after the siege.”

Trump has said he is innocent. His legal team has characterized the latest case as an attack on his right to free speech and his right to challenge an election that he believed had been stolen.

He addressed the proceedings in a brief statement on a drizzly tarmac at Washington’s Reagan National Airport before he boarded his plane back to New Jersey.

“This is the persecution of the person that’s leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot,” he said. “So if you can’t beat ‘em, you persecute ‘em or you prosecute ’em. We can’t let this happen in America.”

One early point of contention emerged Thursday when defence lawyers bristled at the idea that a trial could be rapidly scheduled. Prosecutors said they would move quickly to provide Trump’s lawyers with the information they’d need to prepare a defence, but defence attorney John Lauro said it was “somewhat absurd” that the case could be ready for trial anytime soon.

“These are weighty issues. Obviously, the US has had three years to investigate this matter,” Lauro said.

The election theft case is part of escalating legal troubles for the ex-president, coming nearly two months after Trump pleaded not guilty to dozens of federal felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate and thwarting government efforts to retrieve them. That case is set for trial next May.

He also was charged in New York with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential campaign, a case scheduled for trial next March. And prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are expected in the coming weeks to announce charging decisions in an investigation into efforts to subvert election results in that state.

Thursday’s arraignment was part of a now-familiar but nonetheless stunning ritual for Trump, requiring him to hit pause on his presidential campaign and play the role of criminal defendant. He was flown by private plane from New Jersey to Washington, where his motorcade with lights and sirens made its way through the nation’s capital – a journey documented in wall-to-wall cable coverage once again.

His appearance represented a relatively rare return to Washington since he left the White House. After a trip that took him through a highway tunnel and District streets, Trump lamented what he called the “filth and the decay” of the city, which he claimed was worse than when he ended his term. But that overlooks the fact that when he left office, some businesses were boarded up and military presence in the city was ramped up in the aftermath of the insurrection sparked by his own election lies.

Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president’s allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.

The courtroom Thursday filled with spectators who included several federal judges, including Chief District Court Judge James Boasberg – presumably there to observe the momentous event.

The indictment chronicles how Trump and his Republican allies, in what Smith described as an attack on a “bedrock function of the US government,” repeatedly lied about the results in the two months after he lost the election and pressured his vice president, Mike Pence, and state election officials to take action to help him cling to power.

The former president was the only person charged in the case, though prosecutors referenced six unnamed co-conspirators, mostly lawyers, they say he plotted with, including in a scheme to enlist fake electors in seven battleground states won by Biden to submit false certificates to the federal government.

The indictment also relies on testimony from a broad cross-section of Trump’s aides and state election officials and cites contemporaneous notes that prosecutors say were taken by Pence.

The legal proceedings going forward will be presided over by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, an appointee of President Barack Obama who has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of rioters.

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With elections looming, Trump drums up cash, support for January 6 rioters

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One day after January 6, 2021, then-President Donald Trump denounced the rioters who violently stormed the Capitol building, breaking through barricades, battling law enforcement and sending members of Congress — who were set to formally certify his re-election loss — running for their lives.

“Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem,” he said in a video, condemning what he called a “heinous attack.”

That condemnation was delayed and only offered amid widespread criticism — including from fellow Republicans — for his role in sparking the mayhem. But two-and-a-half years later, any sign of regret or reprimand from Mr. Trump has vanished as he prepares to face federal criminal charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Now the early but commanding front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, Mr. Trump regularly downplays the violence, lionises the rioters as patriots and spreads false claims about who was involved. He has not only vowed to pardon a “large portion” of January 6 defendants if he wins a second term, but he has also fundraised for them, befriended their families and collaborated on a song that became a surprise iTunes hit.

“They were there proud, they were there with love in their heart. … And it was a beautiful day,” Mr. Trump said at a recent episode of CNN town hall. When asked if he had any regrets about his actions that day, Mr. Trump voiced no remorse and instead seemed most concerned about the lack of attention paid to his crowd size.

“January 6; it was the largest crowd I’ve ever spoken to,” he said.

Mr. Trump was always reluctant to condemn the actions of supporters spurred by his lies of a stolen election. As the violence unfolded, Mr. Trump ignored the desperate pleas of aides and allies to denounce the rioters and ask them to stand down. And when he did speak out, hours later, his response was tepid; He said he loved the rioters and shared their pain.
Mr. Trump’s evolution began at a time when he was garnering relatively little mainstream media coverage. And it echoed the efforts of some Republicans in Congress, who had tried to recast the mob as nonviolent despite reams of video footage, public testimony and accounts from members of Congress, journalists and Capitol Police officers, 140 of whom were injured that day.

It also coincided with a broader shift in public opinion. Polling from Monmouth University showed that between March and November 2021, Republicans grew increasingly likely to say the anger that led to the Capitol attack was justified, with 54% saying the anger was either fully or partially justified in the fall — up from 40% that spring.

The Pew Research Center also found that, between March and September 2021, Republicans grew less likely to say it was important for law enforcement agencies to find and prosecute the rioters. Only 57% said that it was very or somewhat important in the fall, down from about 80% six months earlier.

That was when, in an interview with Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham, Mr. Trump claimed the rioters had posed “zero threat” to the lawmakers who had assembled in the Capitol to certify the Electoral College vote — even though the mob tried to breach the House chamber.

“Look, they went in — they shouldn’t have done it. Some of them went in, and they’re hugging and kissing the police and the guards, you know, they had a great relationship,” he said.

In fact, many of the protesters violently clashed with police as they stormed the building, smashing windows and ramming through doors. Some brandished weapons; others wore tactical gear.

By that time, many of Mr. Trump’s supporters had already painted Ashli Babbitt, one of five people who died during or immediately after the riot, as a martyr unjustly killed by police. Ms. Babbitt was fatally shot by an officer while trying to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door as Capitol Police scrambled to evacuate the building premises.

That summer, Mr. Trump began to publicly demand the release of the shooter’s identity, despite the officer being cleared of wrongdoing by two federal investigations.

That fall, Mr. Trump taped a video that was played at an event commemorating what would have been Ms. Babbitt’s birthday in which he demanded “justice” for her and her family.

In January 2022, Mr. Trump first publicly dangled the prospect of pardons for the January 6 defendants at a rally in Texas. “If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly,” he told the crowd. “And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly.” At that point, more than 670 people had been convicted of crimes related to the attack, including some found guilty of seditious conspiracy and assaulting police officers.

In September 2022, Mr. Trump told conservative radio host Wendy Bell that he was helping some of the defendants, though aides declined at the time how or how much he had contributed. “I’m financially supporting people that are incredible, and they were in my office actually two days ago. It’s very much on my mind,” he said.

Mr. Trump’s support has only intensified since he formally launched his third campaign. Earlier this year, he collaborated on Justice for All, a song that features a choir of January 6 defendants singing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” recorded over a prison phone line and overlaid with Mr. Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. He featured the song at the first official rally of his 2024 campaign, standing with his hand on his heart as a music video featuring violent footage of the riot played behind him on two giant screens.
He also recorded a video played at the group’s holiday fundraising event in Washington and hosted a dinner for family members of the January 6 defendants at Mar-a-Lago in March.

A review of social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records found that the mob was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including GOP officials, donors and far-right militants.

But that hasn’t stopped Mr. Trump from claiming that others were responsible for the attack, including Antifa and Black Lives Matter. Last weekend, through social media platforms, Mr. Trump amplified messages claiming that January 6 had been a “staged riot” orchestrated by the government — of which he was still in charge at the time.

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