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For Immediate Release
Contact:

David Vance, dvance@commoncause.org

Trump and Meadows Anticipated Violence January 6th, Knew of Firearms in Crowd but Incited Mob to March on the Capitol

Statement of Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn 

WASHINGTON

Then-President Trump and his chief of staff Mark Meadows were warned repeatedly of anticipated violence on January 6th yet did nothing. They were informed of semi-automatic rifles and pistols - AR-15s and Glocks - being carried by members of the audience on the Ellipse, hours before his speech, yet Trump incited the crowd and called on his heavily armed audience to march on the Capitol and 'fight like hell.'

The armed and vicious mob he sent to the Capitol on January 6th was the final desperate act in a months-long, multi-layered criminal conspiracy by former-President Trump and his henchmen to ignore the will of the American people and overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election by any means.

His actions and inaction as the insurrection unfolded, outlined in sworn-testimony to the January 6 Select Committee, is jaw-dropping, un-American, and yet another warning to us all. Just when we think accounts of the actions of the former President and his inner circle can get no worse, we learn that in fact it can. The testimony delivered today by Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to Mark Meadows when he was White House chief of staff was chilling. Her testimony and that heard previously by the Committee makes it absolutely clear that Donald Trump remains a danger to our democracy and to our nation. The former-President and his coconspirators must be held accountable by the Justice Department and any other authority with jurisdiction, including by state or local officials where parts of this scheme were plotted and carried out.

Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.

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