[51] Starting at noon on January 6 at a "Save America" rally on the Ellipse,[52] Trump gave a speech in which he repeated false claims of election irregularities[53] and said, "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore".

[88] Trump and elected Republican officials have promoted a revisionist history of the event by downplaying the severity of the violence, spreading conspiracy theories, and portraying those charged with crimes as hostages and martyrs.

Trump made inquiries regarding the possibility of invoking martial law to "re-run" or reverse the election[96][98] and appointed a special counsel to find instances of fraud, despite conclusions by federal and state officials that such cases were few or non-existent.

[13][100] On December 28, far-right activist Ali Alexander described collaboration with the Proud Boys and explained the purpose of the January 6 event would be "to build momentum and pressure" to convince members of Congress to alter the election results.

The leaders planned to procure boat transportation so bridge closures could not prevent their entry into D.C.[g] On December 12, about 200 Proud Boys joined a march near Freedom Plaza and the Trump International Hotel dressed in combat fatigues and ballistic vests.

[119] Three days later, Proud Boy members were being photographed wearing apparel featuring the antisemitic, Neo-Nazi slogan "6MWE" (6 million wasn't enough),[120] referring to the number of Jewish Holocaust victims killed by Nazi Germany during World War II.

[124][126] On December 30, the leadership received a document titled "1776 Returns", which called for the occupation of "crucial buildings" on January 6 and argued for supporters to "Storm the Winter Palace" in a reference to an attack on the Capitol.

On December 8, Trump pardoned retired US Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to "willfully and knowingly" making false statements to the FBI about communications with the Russian ambassador.

[165] At 7:40 p.m. on January 5, someone wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, a face mask, and Nike Air Max Speed Turf sneakers was filmed carrying a bag through a residential neighborhood on South Capitol Street.

[99][198] Although the initial plan for the rally called for people to remain at the Ellipse until the counting of electoral slates was complete, the White House said they should march to the Capitol, as Trump repeatedly urged during his speech.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), a leader of the group of lawmakers who vowed to challenge the Electoral College vote, greeted these protesters with a raised fist as he passed by on his way to Congress's joint session in the early afternoon.

Samsel later told the FBI that Biggs "encouraged him to push at the barricades and that when he hesitated, the Proud Boys leader flashed a gun, questioned his manhood and repeated his demand to move upfront and challenge the police", according to The New York Times.

[231] The Proud Boys led the charge toward the Capitol, to the next police line,[225] repeating the same set of tactics: identifying building access points, riling up other protesters, and sometimes directly joining in the violence.

[250] One media report described his actions as follows: In short, he tricked them, willingly becoming the rabbit to their wolf pack, pulling them away from the chambers where armed officers were waiting, avoiding tragedy and saving lives.

[k] After evacuation, the mob briefly took control of the chamber, with some armed men carrying plastic handcuffs and others posing with raised fists on the Senate dais Pence had left minutes earlier.

[287] Subsequently, a Democratic aide to the House Administration Committee emailed Greg Sargent of The Washington Post claiming the missing buttons were likely due to a "clerical screw-up" resulting from Pressley's swapping offices.

", Tarrio replied, "Yep... Make no mistake... We did this..."[124] At 2:44 p.m., law enforcement near the House Chamber was trying to "defend two fronts",[clarification needed] and "a lot of members [of Congress] and staff that were in danger at the time".

[74][273] At 6:25 p.m., Trump tweeted: "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" and then issued a call: "Go home with love & in peace.

[332] On July 14, 2022, CNN published a corroborating account by a Metropolitan Police officer in the motorcade, who told of the "heated exchange" Trump had with his Secret Service detail when they refused to take him to the Capitol following his rally on January 6.

Trump, according to the committee, "lied to the American people, ignored all evidence refuting his false fraud claims, pressured state and federal officials to throw out election results favoring his challenger, encouraged a violent mob to storm the Capitol and even signaled support for the execution of his own vice president".

[357] On January 6, Secretary Miller ultimately withheld permission to deploy the National Guard until 4:32 p.m., after assets from Virginia had already entered the district, FBI tactical teams had arrived at the Capitol, and Trump had instructed rioters to "go home".

[372] The mob included Republican Party officials, current and former state legislators and political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists,[372] conservative evangelical Christians,[m] and participants of the "Save America" Rally.

[415] Far-right emblematic gear was worn by some participants, including neo-Confederate, Holocaust deniers, neo-Nazi and Völkisch-inspired neopagan apparel, as well as a shirt emblazoned with references to the Auschwitz concentration camp and its motto, Arbeit macht frei ("Work sets you free").

[421] After the attack, two white nationalists known for racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric streamed to their online followers a video posted on social media showing a man harassing an Israeli journalist seeking to conduct a live report outside the building.

[453][454] In February 2021, an academic analysis in The Atlantic found that of the 193 persons so far arrested for invading the Capitol, 89 percent had no clear public connection to established far-right militias, known white-nationalist gangs, or any other known militant organizations.

[483] D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Jeffrey Smith, who was injured in the attack, died by suicide from a gunshot wound to the head at George Washington Memorial Parkway on January 15, after a misdiagnosed concussion;[484] his death was found to be in line of duty.

[20][498] Items, including portraits of John Quincy Adams and James Madison, as well as a marble statue of Thomas Jefferson, were covered in "corrosive gas agent residue"; these were sent to the Smithsonian for assessment and restoration.

[502][503] Representative Anna Eshoo said in a statement that "[i]mages on social media and in the press of vigilantes accessing congressional computers are worrying" and she had asked the Chief Administrative Officer of the House (CAO) "to conduct a full assessment of threats based on what transpired".

[540] In the aftermath of the attack, after drawing widespread condemnation from the U.S. Congress, members of his administration, and the media, 45th U.S. President Donald Trump released a video-taped statement on January 7, reportedly to stop the resignations of his staff and the threats of impeachment or removal from office.

[597] According to the Associated Press, U.S. media outlets first described the developments on January 6 as "a rally or protest", but as the events of the day escalated and further reporting and images emerged, the descriptions shifted to "an assault, a riot, an insurrection, domestic terrorism or even a coup attempt".