Claim:
On Jan. 6, 2021, the day of the riot at the U.S. Capitol, then-President Donald Trump posted to followers to "remain peaceful" with "no violence" and also to "stay peaceful" and "support our Capitol Police and law enforcement."
Rating:
Mixture ( About this rating? )
Context:
Trump posted two tweets that mentioned being "peaceful." He also once mentioned during his Jan. 6 speech on the Ellipse for his supporters to "peacefully" protest. However, the truth was that the tweets were posted after the violence of the day had already begun. Meanwhile, the spoken mention of "peacefully" protesting occurred during a misinformation-filled speech, in which he also told the crowd, "We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore." Further, all of this followed many months of Trump baselessly and repeatedly predicting the 2020 U.S. presidential election would involve massive voter fraud.
During the Sept. 10, 2024, debate between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, ABC News moderator David Muir asked Trump whether he had regrets for his role in the violent events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Following Trump's answer , Harris provided her own thoughts about the matter.
While the debate continued, a user on X named Chad Prather, host of "The Chad Prather Show," posted ( archived ) a screenshot of a Trump tweet ( archived ) from the day of the riot. Prather added to his post, in reference to Harris, "Since the moderators won't fact check her."
The promoted claim was that Trump tweeted to "remain peaceful" with "no violence," meaning that Trump could wash his hands of the matter in innocence. Users previously shared this genuine tweet alongside another one ( archived ) in a meme shared on X which Trump also said to "stay peaceful."
The meme appeared like this:
"Does anyone remember these tweets … probably not because they were removed," the meme incorrectly claimed.
In our research, we concluded that while Trump's @realDonaldTrump account truly did display these two tweets, Prather's post and other users' posts presenting Trump's words lacked crucial context. (We noted Trump himself repeatedly shared posts showing he held strong views about his words being taken out of context .)
In sum, Trump did tweet to his supporters who were already rioting at the Capitol to "remain peaceful" with "no violence" and also to "stay peaceful" and to "support our Capitol Police and law enforcement." However, anyone asserting any level of innocence for Trump's role in the Capitol riot through the sharing of these two tweets — or the lone mention of the word "peacefully" during his speech — would do so by ignoring the vast majority of the rest of the data available for this matter, mainly being the fact Trump posted his tweets after the violence at the Capitol had already begun and many months after he repeatedly promoted baseless accusations of voter fraud.
Context Is Key
On Jan. 8, 2021, Twitter announced a permanent suspension ( archived ) for Trump's account following the events at the Capitol. Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk later restored access to Trump's account following his 2022 purchase of the platform.
Meanwhile, on Trump's Facebook page, two posts showing the same words remained available . Facebook eventually also temporarily suspended his account .
The user who created the aforementioned meme claimed something about a cover-up to hide these tweets from the public. In reality, countless news organizations and other blogs reprinted the words from the two posts in articles published around the world.
Perhaps most important about the context behind the meme was that these tweets from Trump came after the violence at the Capitol had already started — and many months after he repeatedly promoted baseless predictions of massive voter fraud in the 2020 U.S. elections . After all, the driving force behind Trump's supporters violently protesting at the Capitol stemmed from the former president's own promotion of the false belief that the election had been stolen . To be clear, it is false to assert that the 2020 election was "stolen."
Two Tweets
Trump's account displayed the times of the posting of the first message as 2:38 p.m. EST on Twitter and 2:40 p.m. on Facebook . It read, "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"
The second tweet from the meme was posted a short time later, at 3:13 p.m. on Twitter and 3:14 p.m. on Facebook . The tweet said, "I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!"
USA Today published a timeline of the Capitol riot showing rioters had already breached the grounds before Trump issued his tweets about being "peaceful." In fact, after the grounds had been breached, Trump first tweeted , "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving 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!"
With the help of a bullhorn, one of the people at the Capitol riot read to the crowd Trump's tweet about Pence. The following video , which was unveiled by the U.S. House panel investigating the riot, showed this to be the case:
Rioters shouted, "Hang Mike Pence."
The U.S. House panel also reported receiving testimony claiming Trump seemingly showed approval of the crowd's chants to "hang Mike Pence."
'We Love You. You're Very Special.'
More than an hour after Trump's second tweet, a video appeared on his social media accounts about 4:17 p.m. In the video, Trump repeated the baseless allegations of voter fraud and falsely claimed he won the election in a "landslide" victory. He told supporters, "But you have to go home now." He also spoke to the violent rioters, saying, "We love you. You're very special."
Trump's last tweet of the day appeared at 6:01 p.m. He said, "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!"
This was one of Trump's final tweets before his Twitter suspension.
Ellipse Speeches
Earlier on the same day, Trump delivered a misinformation-filled speech to supporters on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. According to The Associated Press, some supporters left early for the Capitol before he was finished speaking . Other supporters spent the morning " casing the entrances to the Capitol." During the speech, Trump used the word "peacefully" one time. According to a transcript , Trump said, "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard." At the same time, he also told them, "We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."
During the same speech, Trump told supporters, "We're going to walk down to the Capitol." In the speech, he said that he would be walking to the building with them. "I'll be there with you," Trump said. However, he did not walk with them, nor did he travel to the Capitol in any other manner.
Prior to Trump's speech, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and others warmed up the crowd with brief remarks. Giuliani said , "Let's have trial by combat!" Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., also told those gathered at the Ellipse, "Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking *ss."
Arrests, Charges and Suicides
As of August 2024, court records reflected arrests and charges for nearly 1,500 people for their alleged participation in activities related to the Capitol riot.
The Washington Post reported that 140 law enforcement officers were injured during the violence. CNN later reported Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said, "We know from talking to the hundreds of officers guarding the Capitol that day that this 140 number undercounts the number of officers who were physically injured, let alone those who have suffered trauma as a result of the day's events."
Further, CNBC published "Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick , who collapsed in his office after responding to the riot, died Jan. 7 from two strokes. Washington's chief medical examiner has said that 'all that transpired' during the riot played a role in Sicknick's condition." The U.S. Capitol Police published of Sicknick's death on the day following the riot, "This does not change the fact Officer Sicknick died in the line of duty, courageously defending Congress and the Capitol."
Additionally, CNBC reported that at least four other officers involved in defending the Capitol later died by suicide.
Sources:
Acosta, Jim, and Paula Reid. "Trump Reacted with Approval to 'hang Mike Pence' Chants from Rioters on January 6." CNN , 25 May 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/25/politics/donald-trump-january-6-mike-pence-chants/index.html .
Bond, Shannon. "Trump Suspended From Facebook For 2 Years." NPR , 4 June 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/06/04/1003284948/trump-suspended-from-facebook-for-2-years .
Breuninger, Kevin, and Dan Mangan. "Two More Police Officers Die by Suicide after Defending Capitol during Riot by Pro-Trump Mob, Tally Now 4." CNBC , 2 Aug. 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/02/3rd-police-officer-gunther-hashida-kills-himself-after-capitol-riot-by-trump-mob.html .
Cohen, Marshall. "Fact Check: Trump Lies about Voter Fraud While States, CDC Encourage Voting-by-Mail as Pandemic-Friendly Option." CNN , 10 Apr. 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/politics/fact-check-trump-lying-voter-fraud/index.html .
Colvin, Jill. "What We Know about Trump's Actions as Insurrection Unfolded." AP News , 9 June 2022, https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-ivanka-trump-biden-presidential-elections-e8fc57e5de4fe00e848e63d923f7c758 .
"District of Columbia | 43 Months Since the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol." United States Attorney's Office , 6 Aug. 2024, https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/43-months-jan-6-attack-capitol .
Duffy, Clare, and Paul LeBlanc. "Elon Musk Restores Donald Trump's Twitter Account | CNN Business." CNN , 20 Nov. 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/19/business/twitter-musk-trump-reinstate/index.html .
FOX 13 News Staff. "Capitol Riots: Complete List of Tampa Bay Area Arrests in Jan. 6 Attack." FOX 13 News , 9 June 2022, https://www.fox13news.com/news/capitol-riot-tampa-bay-arrests .
"Giuliani: 'Let's Have Trial by Combat.'" Politico.com , 8 Feb. 2021, https://politi.co/3aJR0cI .
Hoffman, Riley. "READ: Harris-Trump Presidential Debate Transcript." ABC News , 10 Sept. 2024, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-trump-presidential-debate-transcript/story?id=113560542 .
Jackman, Tom. "Police Union Says 140 Officers Injured in Capitol Riot." Washington Post , 27 Jan. 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-union-says-140-officers-injured-in-capitol-riot/2021/01/27/60743642-60e2-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html .
Kirkpatrick, David D., et al. "Before the Capitol Riot, Calls for Cash and Talk of Revolution." The New York Times , 16 Jan. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/16/us/capitol-riot-funding.html .
Leatherby, Lauren, et al. "How a Presidential Rally Turned Into a Capitol Rampage." The New York Times , 12 Jan. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/12/us/capitol-mob-timeline.html .
Mascaro, Lisa, and Mary Clare Jalonick. "Jan. 6 Panel Hears: Trump 'detached from Reality' in Defeat." AP News , 14 June 2022, https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-capitol-siege-donald-trump-campaigns-presidential-070ced9a013c58cf001d6d4137e4abc0 .
"Medical Examiner Finds USCP Officer Brian Sicknick Died of Natural Causes." United States Capitol Police , 19 Apr. 2021, http://www.uscp.gov/media-center/press-releases/medical-examiner-finds-uscp-officer-brian-sicknick-died-natural-causes .
"Mo Brooks: 'Today Is the Day American Patriots Start Taking down Names and Kicking Ass.'" Politico.com , 8 Feb. 2021, https://politi.co/2YVe4Qn .
Petras, George, et al. "Timeline: How the Storming of the U.S. Capitol Unfolded on Jan. 6." USA Today , 6 Jan. 2021, https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2021/01/06/dc-protests-capitol-riot-trump-supporters-electoral-college-stolen-election/6568305002/ .
"President Trump Video Statement on Capitol Protesters." C-SPAN , 6 Jan. 2021, https://www.c-span.org/video/?507774-1/president-trump-claims-election-stolen-tells-protesters-leave-capitol .
Rabinowitz, Hannah, et al. "US Attorney Says Untold Number of Police Officers Injured While Protecting Capitol on January 6 | CNN Politics." CNN , 4 Jan. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/04/politics/january-6-prosecutions-justice-department/index.html .
Trump Twitter Archive . https://www.thetrumparchive.com .
Tweets of January 8, 2021 | The American Presidency Project . https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/tweets-january-8-2021 .
Twitter. Permanent Suspension of @realDonaldTrump . https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension .
"WATCH: 'I Had Nothing to Do' with Jan. 6 Riot, Trump Says | ABC Presidential Debate." YouTube , PBS NewsHour, 10 Sept. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2w_qra6srU .
"WATCH: 'Let's Not Go Back,' Harris Says of January 6 Insurrection | ABC Presidential Debate." YouTube , PBS NewsHour, 10 Sept. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaG276f0ffg .
Local News
