Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California) on Sunday accused Donald Trump of deliberately trying to “escalate the violence” already raging on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, against his Vice President, Mike Pence, in a reckless attempt to cling Power.
Lofgren, a member of the House Select Committee investigating the insurgency, pointed to the tweet the former president sent attacking Pence even as Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Former White House aides testified at the House committee hearing last week that Trump was asked to send a message to help quell the violence. But he instead tweeted amid the riot saying Pence ‘didn’t have the guts to do what should have been done’ – referring to Pence’s refusal to reject the election votes that certified victory for Joe Biden.
Video from the scene on Capitol Hill after Trump’s tweet shows a rioter then announcing that Pence “betrayed us”, infuriating the crowd. Fans were soon chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!”
“When he sent the tweet attacking his vice president, he already knew the violence was going on,” Lofgren said on UKTN’ “Face the Nation.” “The only conclusion you can come to is that he intended to escalate this violence against the former vice president.”
The former president’s niece, Mary Trump, accused her uncle in an interview last week of essentially ‘giving Pence a death sentence’ and suggested killing Pence might have helped Trump justify the statement. of martial law.
Similarly, former assistant deputy attorney general Harry Litman accused Trump on MSNBC on Saturday of “inciting murderous rage” in his supporters as part of a “set-up” against Pence.
Lofgren also accused Trump of fomenting a frightening and violent culture in America today. She pointed out that “very conservative” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) was yelled at and “manhandled” by hardline Republicans on Saturday at the Texas Republican Party convention in Houston.
“I think that’s what the former president triggered here,” she added.
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