Trouble for Trump as committee makes case Capitol attack was premeditated

Donald Trump is facing growing legal peril as the House January 6 committee lays out a case that appears increasingly geared to making a criminal prosecution all but inevitable.

Trump and his supporters have long claimed that the riot at the Capitol on 6 January 2021 was a peaceful protest against his election defeat that spun out of control in the heat of the moment. Nine deaths are linked to the attack and its aftermath.

The panel showed a draft tweet, obtained from the National Archives, calling on supporters to arrive early for a rally and to expect crowds.

As night turned to morning, Trump tweeted a call for supporters to come to Washington on January 6, when Congress would tally electoral college results.

Some former Trump officials denied that the committee had tied him directly to extremist groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. But calls for Merrick Garland, the attorney general, to prosecute Trump for the crime of encouraging the commission of crimes of violence are gathering momentum.

This was predictably interpreted by the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers and other violent white nationalist militia and Christian militia groups as the call to arms, Tribe said.