FINAL REPORT (excerpt pgs 685-687)

from Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, December, 2022 

8.7 PRESIDENT TRUMP POURS FUEL ON THE FIRE

After Dominic Pezzola and others breached the Capitol at 2:13 p.m., a mob quickly entered and headed towards the Senate and House Chambers, where Members were meeting.244 As the crowd moved through the Capitol, they chanted “Fight for Trump” and “Stop the Steal!” They also chanted “Nancy, Nancy” as they searched for Speaker Pelosi.245 At 2:18 p.m., the House went into recess as hundreds of rioters confronted USCP officers inside the Crypt, which is a short distance from the first breach point.246

USCP officers formed a line across the Crypt in an attempt to stop the mob’s advance.247 By 2:21 p.m., the rioters had tried to break through police lines, but they were temporarily unsuccessful.248 As USCP officers held the line inside the Crypt, President Trump poured fuel on the fire, tweeting at 2:24 p.m.:

“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!”249

One minute later, the mob violently pushed through the USCP officers in the Crypt and continued moving south towards the House Chamber.250 Joshua Pruitt, the Proud Boy dressed in a Punisher shirt, was at the front of the line as rioters broke through in the Crypt.251 Officer David Millard told the Select Committee that rioters in the Crypt claimed they were in the Capitol because their “boss” told them to be there—meaning President Trump.252 Officer Millard also recalled members of the mob telling him they were there to stop the steal.253

After breaking through the police line in the Crypt, the mob pursued USCP officers as they retreated to the U.S. Capitol Visitor’s Center (CVC). Pruitt was among the rioters who advanced into the CVC, where he came close to Senator Chuck Schumer.254 When the USCP officers attempted to lower metal barriers to halt the crowd’s momentum, another small group of Proud Boys immediately interceded to prevent the barricades from coming down.255 The Proud Boy contingent included three men from the Kansas City, Kansas area: William Chrestman,256 Chris Kuehne,257 and Louis Colon.258 Felicia Konold and Cory Konold, two Proud Boy associates from Arizona, joined the Kansas City group while marching from the Washington Monument to the Capitol earlier in the day and were on the scene.259 Two other Proud Boys, Nicholas Ochs and Nicholas DeCarlo, filmed the incident.260

Surveillance footage shows Chrestman using a wooden club, or modified axe handle, to prevent the barrier from being lowered to the floor.261 Colon later admitted to authorities that he purchased and modified an axe handle “to be used as both a walking stick and an improvised weapon” on January 6th.262 Colon also told authorities that he attended a meeting with Chrestman and others on the night of January 5th, during which someone asked, “do we have patriots here willing to take it by force?” Colon understood that the individual meant that they should use “force against the government.” This same individual commented that they should “go in there and take over.”263

At 2:36 p.m., the mob pushed through a line of USCP officers guarding the House Chamber.264 Rioters also entered the Senate Chamber.265 Within minutes, Jacob Chansley (a.k.a. the QAnon Shaman) entered the Senate Chamber, making his way to the Senate dais, where Vice President Pence had been presiding over the joint session. An officer asked Chansley to vacate the dais, but instead he shouted, “Mike Pence is a fucking traitor.”  Chansley also left a note that read: “It’s Only a Matter of Time. Justice is Coming!”266 Surrounded by others, Chansley held a conspiracy-laden prayer session, saying: “Thank you for allowing the United States of America to be reborn. Thank you for allowing us to get rid of the communists, the globalists, and the traitors within our government.”267 Other extremists, including at least one associate of the white nationalist “America First” movement, also sat in the Vice President’s seat.268

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