House Democrats prosecuting Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riots have laid out what they intend to prove the former president is guilty of as the formal arguments Senate trial of his second impeachment got underway Wednesday. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the lead House impeachment manager, said the prosecution will prove the “inciter-in-chief” provoked his supporters into violence before taking a step back and refusing to act when the attack on the Capitol began.
“He told them to fight like hell, and they brought us hell that day,” said Raskin (D-Md.) on the Senate floor Wednesday, as per Politico. “This case is not about blaming an innocent bystander. This is about holding accountable the personal singularly responsible for this attack.” Raskin’s arguments were the start of a two-day presentation by Democrats they hope will win over at least 17 Senate Republicans in convicting Trump.
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Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), another impeachment manager, laid out a timeline of Trump’s comments and actions inciting the attempted insurrection following his loss to President Joe Biden in the November election, playing a series of video clips in which Trump vowed to “never surrender” when it came to flipping the election results.
“People listened. Armed supporters surrounded election officials’ homes. The secretary of state for Georgia got death threats. Officials warned the president that his rhetoric was dangerous and it was going to result in deadly violence,” Neguse said. “He didn’t stop it. He didn’t condemn the violence. He incited it further.”
Neguse added that Trump’s incitements got more specific as he repeatedly supported the “stop the steal” campaign and ordered supporters to march on Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, as Congress was certifying Biden’s win at a speech given that day. The Democrats announced Wednesday morning that included in their case will be never-before-seen footage of the riots taken from Capitol security cameras and other sources, intended to show the “extreme violence” of the rioters.
Tuesday marked the trial’s first official day, during which the Senate voted to uphold its constitutional authority to put a former president on trial. Trump’s team began its argument with a meandering speech by lead attorney Bruce Castor, which was widely criticized by senators from both sides. “[If you] actually think that President Trump committed a criminal offense…you go and arrest him….” Castor said during his opening, earning confused reactions on Twitter. “The Department of Justice does know what to do with such people, and so far, I haven’t seen any activity in that direction.”
