Information Regarding Actions on January 6, 2021

By Dr. Brad Agle, Professor of Ethics and Leadership at Brigham Young University

 

On January 6th, 2021, a group of protestors stormed the United States Capitol.  A great deal of debate has ensued since that time regarding what happened, who was responsible for what happened, etc. Several hundred members of the group have been found guilty of crimes based on their activities that day, which has also led to controversy.  In any case, the activities of that day were highly significant and getting answers to questions posed above is a very significant activity. 

 

The short version of what you will find below is as follows:

 

  1. There was controversy surrounding the establishment of a committee to investigate January 6th. Because it was so highly political, it was difficult to create and staff the committee in a way that would satisfy both Democrats and Republicans. A Select Committee was eventually formed with primarily Democratic members and two Republicans, Liz Cheney and Brian Kinzinger. Courts ruled against those opposing the commission.
  2. The Congressional Select Committee investigated the events of January 6th interviewing over 1000 witnesses and reviewing over one million documents. After conducting a set of public hearings, the committee published a report of its findings on December 19, 2022.  The report’s most fundamental conclusion was that the riot was caused by one man – President Donald Trump.
  3. The Select Committee report has several important findings. The most fundamental findings demonstrate that Trump’s activities that day constitute what is likely the greatest abdication of the Oath of Office by the President in the history of the United States. While the attack of the U.S. Capitol was underway by Trump supporters, President Trump watched the attack on TV while doing virtually nothing for hours to stop this attack, in spite of pleas from his family and closest advisors to do something.
  4. Courts throughout the United States have convicted hundreds of rioters for breaking laws on January 6th, including assault.
  5. A chart showing how the actions of January 6 effected various voters.

Critics Question The Validity of The January 6th Select Committee That Investigated The Attack On The Capitol.

The United States Congress set out to investigate what happened on January 6th.  The house passed a resolution to set up an independent bicameral commission similar to the 9/11 commission.  However, Senate Republicans filibustered, killing that proposal. Therefore, Congress set up a Select Committee to examine the events of January 6th.  The selection and composition of that committee continues to be controversial. It was composed primarily of Democrats, including the chairman, with 2 Republicans – Vice Chair, Liz Cheney, and Adam Kinzinger. Nevertheless, the committee conducted an investigation, performed interviews under oath, held hearings, and published its report on what happened on and in relation to January 6th.   What follows utilizes findings from that report, the vast majority of which is built on testimony provided by Republicans.

 

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/republicans-are-defining-the-jan-6-hearings/

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/jan-6-committee-witnesses-common-rcna34499

 

 

Critics claim that the formation of the committee was flawed, which makes the committee, and its findings, invalid.  Despite the criticism, the committee has withstood legal challenges against it. On May 1, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that none of these concerns were enough to stop the committee’s work. The ruling was made by Justice Thomas Kelly, a Trump appointee. 

Justice Kelly stated that the purpose of the committee was to “avert a future Jan. 6th- style attack”.  His decision was in line with a previous ruling by U.S. Court of Appeals of District of Columbia that ruled against Trump’s efforts to block the turning over of Presidential documents to the select committee. Those justices wrote there are “few, if any, more imperative interests squarely within Congress’s wheelhouse than ensuring the safe and uninterrupted conduct of its constitutionally assigned business.”

 

For further explanation on the validity of the Jan. 6th Select Committee please see https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2022/the-legitimacy-of-the-jan-6-committee-explained/

 

Report of the Select Committee – https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/html-submitted/index.html

Key Findings From the Final Report of the Select Congressional Committee

  • Beginning election night and continuing through January 6th and thereafter, Donald Trump purposely disseminated false allegations of fraud related to the 2020 Presidential election in order to aid his effort to overturn the electionand for purposes of soliciting contributions. These false claims provoked his supporters to violence on January 6th.
  • Knowing that he and his supporters had lost dozens of election lawsuits, and despite his own senior advisors refuting his election fraud claims and urging him to concede his election loss, Donald Trump refused to accept the lawful result of the 2020 election. Rather than honor his constitutional obligation to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” President Trump instead plotted to overturn the election outcome.
  • Despite knowing that such an action would be illegal, and that no State had or would submit an altered electoral slate, DonaldTrump corruptly pressured Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to count electoral votes during Congress’s joint session on January 6th.
  • Donald Trump sought to corrupt the U.S. Department of Justice by attempting to enlist Department officials to make purposely false statements and thereby aid his effort to overturn the Presidential election. After that effort failed, Donald Trump offered the position of Acting Attorney General to Jeff Clark knowing that Clark intended to disseminate false information aimed at overturning the election.
  • Without any evidentiary basis and contrary to State and Federal law, DonaldTrump unlawfully pressured State officials and legislators to change the results of the election in their States.
  • Donald Trump oversaw an effort to obtain and transmit false electoral certificates to Congress and the National Archives.
  • Donald Trump pressured Members of Congress to object to valid slates of electors from several States.
  • Donald Trump purposely verified false information filed in Federal court.
  • Based on false allegations that the election was stolen, Donald Trump summoned tens of thousands of supporters to Washington for January 6th. Although these supporters were angry and some were armed, Donald Trump instructed them to march to the Capitol on January 6th to “take back” their country.
  • Knowing that a violent attack on the Capitol was underway and knowing that his words would incite further violence, Donald Trump purposely sent a social media message publicly condemning Vice President Pence at 2:24 p.m. on January 6th.
  • Knowing that violence was underway at the Capitol, and despite his duty to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed, Donald Trump refused repeated requests over a multiple hour period that he instruct his violent supporters to disperse and leave the Capitol, and instead watched the violent attack unfold on television. This failure to act perpetuated the violence at the Capitol and obstructed Congress’s proceeding to count electoral votes.
  • Each of these actions by Donald Trump was taken in support of a multi-part conspiracy to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 Presidential election.
  • The intelligence community and law enforcement agencies did successfully detect the planning for potential violence on January 6th, including planning specifically by the Proud Boys and Oath Keeper militia groups who ultimately led the attack on the Capitol. As January 6th approached, the intelligence specifically identified the potential for violence at the U.S. Capitol. This intelligence was shared within the executive branch, including with the Secret Service and the President’s National Security Council.
  • Intelligence gathered in advance of January 6th did not support a conclusion that Antifa or other left-wing groups would likely engage in a violent counter demonstration, or attack Trump supporters on January 6th. Indeed, intelligence from January 5th indicated that some left-wing groups were instructing their members to “stay at home” and not attend on January 6th. Ultimately, none of these groups was involved to any material extent with the attack on the Capitol on January 6th.
  • Neither the intelligence community nor law enforcement obtained intelligence in advance of January 6th on the full extent of the ongoing planning by President Trump, John Eastman, Rudolph Giuliani and their associates to overturn the certified election results. Such agencies apparently did not (and potentially could not) anticipate the provocation President Trump would offer the crowd in his Ellipse speech, that President Trump would “spontaneously” instruct the crowd to march to the Capitol, that President Trump would exacerbate the violent riot by sending his 2:24 p.m. tweet condemning Vice President Pence, or the full scale of the violence and lawlessness that would ensue. Nor did law enforcement anticipate that President Trump would refuse to direct his supporters to leave the Capitol once violence began. No intelligence community advance analysis predicted exactly how President Trump would behave; no such analysis recognized the full scale and extent of the threat to the Capitol on January 6th.
  • Hundreds of Capitol and DC Metropolitan police officers performed their duties bravely on January 6th, and America owes those individuals immense gratitude for their courage in the defense of Congress and our Constitution. Without their bravery, January 6th would have been far worse. Although certain members of the Capitol Police leadership regarded their approach to January 6th as “all hands on deck,” the Capitol Police leadership did not have sufficient assets in place to address the violent and lawless crowd. Capitol Police leadership did not anticipate the scale of the violence that would ensue after President Trump instructed tens of thousands of his supporters in the Ellipse crowd to march to the Capitol, and then tweeted at 2:24 p.m. Although Chief Steven Sund raised the idea of National Guard support, the Capitol Police Board did not request Guard assistance prior to January 6th. The Metropolitan Police took an even more proactive approach to January 6th, and deployed roughly 800 officers, including responding to the emergency calls for help at the Capitol. Rioters still managed to break their line in certain locations, when the crowd surged forward in the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s 2:24 p.m. tweet. The Department of Justice readied a group of Federal agents at Quantico and in the District of Columbia, anticipating that January 6th could become violent, and then deployed those agents once it became clear that police at the Capitol were overwhelmed. Agents from the Department of Homeland Security were also deployed to assist.
  • President Trump had authority and responsibility to direct deployment of the National Guard in the District of Columbia, but never gave any order to deploy the National Guard on January 6th or on any other day. Nor did he instruct any Federal law enforcement agency to assist. Because the authority to deploy the National Guard had been delegated to the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense could, and ultimately did deploy the Guard. Although evidence identifies a likely miscommunication between members of the civilian leadership in the Department of Defense impacting the timing of deployment, the Committee has found no evidence that the Department of Defense intentionally delayed deployment of the National Guard. The Select Committee recognizes that some at the Department had genuine concerns, counseling caution, that President Trump might give an illegal order to use the military in support of his efforts to overturn the election.

Charges, Trials, and Sentencing regarding January 6th (as of Jan 1, 2024)

Criminal Charges:

  • 452 defendants charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers/employees.
    • 123 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
  • 140 police officers assaulted on Jan. 6:
    • 80 from U.S. Capitol Police.
    • 60 from Metropolitan Police Department.
  • 11 individuals arrested for assaulting a member of the media or destroying media equipment on Jan. 6.
  • 1,186 defendants charged with entering or remaining in restricted federal buildings/grounds.
    • 116 charged with entering a restricted area with a deadly weapon.
  • 71 defendants charged with destruction of government property.
  • 56 defendants charged with theft of government property.
  • 332 defendants charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding.
  • 57 defendants charged with conspiracy:
    • Conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding.
    • Conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during civil disorder.
    • Conspiracy to injure an officer.
    • Combination of the above.

Pleas:

  • 718 individuals pleaded guilty to various federal charges:
    • 213 pleaded guilty to felonies.
    • 505 pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.
    • 89 pleaded guilty to federal charges of assaulting law enforcement officers.
    • 41 pleaded guilty to feloniously obstructing, impeding, or interfering with law enforcement during civil disorder.
    • 130 defendants sentenced to prison terms up to 151 months.
  • 4 pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy.

Trials:

  • 139 individuals found guilty at contested trials.
    • 3 found guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
  • 32 individuals convicted following an agreed-upon set of facts.
  • 76 of the 171 defendants found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or obstructing officers during civil disorder (felonies):
    • 1 sentenced to more than 14 years in prison.

Sentencings:

  • 749 federal defendants had their cases adjudicated and received sentences.
    • 467 sentenced to incarceration.
    • 154 sentenced to home detention (28 also sentenced to incarceration).

 

 

  • Supreme Court justices ruled that federal prosecutors improperly charged hundreds of January 6 rioters with obstruction, a charge that comes with a maximum penalty of 20 years. Thus, rioters convicted of obstruction charges will have their penalties removed, while all other penalties remain in place.

 

 

What Effect Did Donald Trump Have on The Protestors Who Stormed the Capitol?

 

Following is an analysis of Donald Trump’s Effect on those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2001, based on evidence in the Federal Indictment against Trump.  This examination of the evidence argues that Trump’s actions were the main contributor to the actions of protestors that day.

 

https://www.justsecurity.org/91904/dissecting-trumps-peacefully-and-patriotically-defense-of-the-january-6th-attack/

Popular Claims and Evidence Regarding Capitol Attacks

Claims by Donald Trump about January 6th

Timeline of events on January 6 is found here

https://www.americanoversight.org/timeline-jan6

A Resource Explaining What Happened on January 6th From the Encyclopedia Britannica, Fact Checked By the Editors

https://www.britannica.com/event/January-6-U-S-Capitol-attack

  • Event Description
    • Attack on January 6, 2021, by supporters of Donald Trump.
    • Disrupted Congress’s session to certify the 2020 presidential election results.
    • Widely regarded as an insurrection or attempted coup.
    • Considered an act of domestic terrorism by law enforcement agencies.
  • Context and Background
    • The 2020 election was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to changes in voting procedures.
    • Trump and Republicans filed numerous lawsuits against these changes, most of which were dismissed.
    • Trump falsely claimed Democrats were rigging the election, a narrative he maintained after the election.
  • Pre-Attack Developments
    • Trump declared himself the winner prematurely and accused Democrats of election fraud.
    • Radicalized Trump supporters formed groups like “Stop the Steal” and organized protests.
    • Trump and allies pressured Vice President Mike Pence to block the certification of electoral votes.
  • The Attack
    • Trump encouraged supporters to protest on January 6, with inflammatory rhetoric.
    • A mob stormed the Capitol, overpowering police and breaching the building.
    • Rioters vandalized and looted, targeting members of Congress and Pence.
    • Congress members were evacuated or hid during the attack.
    • National Guard and police eventually cleared the Capitol after several hours.
  • Aftermath and Consequences
    • The attack resulted in multiple injuries and deaths among law enforcement and rioters.
    • Trump was impeached for “incitement of insurrection” but acquitted by the Senate.
    • Over 725 rioters were arrested and charged with various federal crimes.
  • Investigations and Responses
    • Senate Republicans blocked a bill for a national commission to investigate the attack.
    • The House created a Select Committee to investigate, leading to extensive hearings and subpoenas.
    • Trump attempted to block the release of records related to his actions, but the Supreme Court allowed their release.

Quotes from Trump Regarding January 6th

 

How January 6th Indictments Effected Support

The graph contains more information on the following link:   https://www.prri.org/spotlight/after-three-years-and-many-indictments-the-big-lie-that-led-to-the-january-6th-insurrection-is-still-believed-by-most-republicans/

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