Trump’s Team Said His Call for Capitol March Was a Surprise. They Lied
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The Jan. 6 committee revealed texts on Tuesday from rally organizers discussing plans to have Donald Trump direct protesters to march to the Capitol or Supreme Court.
The committee displayed a text exchange from Jan. 4 between White House Ellipse rally organizer Kylie Kremer and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell in which the pair discussed secret plans to have Trump call for protesters to march to a second location, either the Supreme Court or Capitol on Jan. 6. Kremer urges Lindell to keep the plans secret, since they did not have permits for the march.
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Jan 6. committee displays a Jan. 4th text exchange between rally organizer Kylie Kremer and Mike Lindell discussing secret plans to have Trump call for protesters to march to second location, either the Supreme Court or Capitol on the 6th. pic.twitter.com/KFfi2mDMQ2
— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) July 12, 2022
A second text message was displayed by the committee from Ali Alexander, who on Jan. 5 outlined that plans for the next day. “Tomorrow: Ellipse then US Capitol. Trump is supposed to order us to capitol at the end of his speech but we will see.”
Text from Ali Alexander on Jan 5th:
"Tomorrow: Ellipse then US Capitol. Trump is supposed to order us to capitol at the end of his speech but we will see" pic.twitter.com/EJ40HbucnO
— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) July 12, 2022
Organizers of the Jan. 6 rally at the Ellipse have continually denied culpability for the Capitol violence, saying that the two were unconnected and that Trump’s call to have people march on the Capitol was unprompted and unscripted. The revelations Tuesday demonstrate this line has always been a lie, as multiple members of Trump’s team — as well as organizers of the White House rally — had full knowledge he’d direct people to the Capitol.
In March, Rolling Stone reported that Scott Johnson, another organizer of the White House rally, overheard Mark Meadows, and Katrina Pierson, speaking over the phone with Kylie Kremer, about plans for the Jan. 6 rally. Johnson said that the three discussed the possibility of obtaining a permit to have protesters march from the Ellipse to the Capitol. Ultimately, the group planned to “direct the people down there and make it look like they went down there on their own,” Johnson told Rolling Stone.
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