DOJ Examines How Trump’s Tweet Spurred Extremists

The New York Times reports:

Mr. Trump’s Twitter post in the early hours of Dec. 19, 2020, was the first time he publicly urged supporters to come to Washington on the day Congress was scheduled to certify the Electoral College results.

His message — which concluded with, “Be there, will be wild!” — has long been seen as instrumental in drawing the crowds that attended a pro-Trump rally on the Ellipse on Jan. 6 and then marched to the Capitol.

But the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of the riot and the parallel inquiry by the House select committee have increasingly shown how Mr. Trump’s post was a powerful catalyst, particularly for far-right militants.

Read the full article.

Federal prosecutors and congressional investigators are documenting how a tweet by President Donald Trump before the Jan 6. Capitol riot — which ended with, “Be there, will be wild!” — served as a powerful catalyst, particularly for far-right militants.https://t.co/NvjylaOypb

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 29, 2022