{"id":120799,"date":"2021-02-08T11:39:31","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T16:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=120799"},"modified":"2021-02-08T13:18:35","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T18:18:35","slug":"evidence-mounts-that-capitol-breach-was-pre-planned-eroding-incitement-allegation-in-trump-impeachment-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/evidence-mounts-that-capitol-breach-was-pre-planned-eroding-incitement-allegation-in-trump-impeachment-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Evidence Mounts that Capitol Breach Was Pre-Planned, Eroding Incitement Allegation in Trump Impeachment Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fevidence-mounts-that-capitol-breach-was-pre-planned-eroding-incitement-allegation-in-trump-impeachment-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=120799&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>As former President Donald Trump\u2019s Tuesday impeachment trial approaches, there is a growing body of evidence in criminal complaints and affidavits that the Jan. 6 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-capitol-breach\">Capitol breach<\/a> had been pre-planned, undercutting the allegation leveled against Trump that he is guilty of \u201cincitement to insurrection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A number of FBI affidavits <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-dc\/capitol-breach-cases\">filed in support<\/a> of various charges\u2014including conspiracy\u2014against accused participants in the Capitol breach show evidence of pre-planning, reinforcing one of the arguments made by critics of the impeachment trial against Trump, namely that participants couldn\u2019t have been incited by the president to break into the building if they had earlier planned to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said recently that parts of the Capitol incident had been pre-planned and coordinated well before Trump\u2019s Jan. 6 speech, which Trump\u2019s accusers have held up as a call to storm the building. While Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rev.com\/blog\/transcripts\/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6\">said in his speech<\/a> that \u201cwe fight like hell and if you don\u2019t fight like hell, you\u2019re not going to have a country anymore,\u201d the former president appeared to be making a general reference to political activism, as he called on supporters to \u201cpeacefully and patriotically\u201d make their voices heard during the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3684140\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Trump-clapping-1200x675-1.jpg\" alt=\"Donald Trump greets the crowd\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then-President Donald Trump greets the crowd at the \u201cStop The Steal\u201d rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Tasos Katopodis\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Graham, in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/graham-warns-dems-about-calling-witnesses-during-trump-impeachment\">interview on Fox News<\/a> last week, said, \u201cThere\u2019s mounting evidence that the people who came to Washington preplanned the attack before the president ever spoke.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you open up that can of worms, we\u2019ll want the FBI to come in and tell us about how people preplanned this attack and what happened with the security footprint of the Capitol. You open up Pandora\u2019s box if you call one witness,\u201d\u00a0Graham added, in reference to calls for witnesses to testify at Trump\u2019s impeachment trial.<\/p>\n<p>The suggested implication of evidence of pre-planning of the Capitol breach is that participants couldn\u2019t have been incited by the president, an argument made by Donald Trump Jr. several weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf these federal law enforcement agencies had prior knowledge that this was a planned attack then POTUS didn\u2019t incite anything,\u201d Trump Jr. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DonaldJTrumpJr\/status\/1349812982012915713?s=20\">said in a tweet<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3687367\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/trump-jr.-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"trump jr\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Donald Trump Jr. at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, northwestern France, on June 6, 2019. (Mandel Ngan\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>A review of some of the affidavits in Capitol incursion cases shows evidence of pre-planning.<\/p>\n<p>An affidavit (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/page\/file\/1360991\/download\">pdf<\/a>)\u00a0filed in the case against Thomas Caldwell, who is believed to have a leadership in the Oath Keepers group and who faces charges of conspiracy and conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, alleges that Caldwell and others planned parts of the incursion in advance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs described more fully herein, CALDWELL planned with DONOVAN CROWL, JESSICA WATKINS, and others known and unknown, to forcibly storm the U.S. Capitol,\u201d the affidavit states.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvidence uncovered in the course of the investigation demonstrates that not only did CALDWELL, CROWL, WATKINS, and others conspire to forcibly storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021\u2014they communicated with one another in advance of the incursion and planned their attack.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-3671348\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" alt=\"rioters\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/jan6-1200x800-1.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3671348\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/jan6-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"rioters\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Protesters at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (John Minchillo\/AP Photo, File)<\/p>\n<p>The document cites communication between Watkins and other suspected Oath Keepers during the Capitol incursion, noting that someone the FBI believes to be Watkins saying, \u201cWe have a good group. We have about 30-40 of us. We are sticking together and sticking to the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Charging documents (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/case-multi-defendant\/file\/1355811\/download\">pdf<\/a>) against Eric Munchel and his mother, Lisa Eisenhart, both of whom face conspiracy charges,\u00a0cite a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/trumps-militias-say-they-are-armed-and-ready-to-defend-their-freedoms-8ht5m0j70\">Jan. 10 article<\/a> in The Times of London, in which Eisenhart expressed that the two had gone into the Capitol as \u201cobservers\u201d but quotes Munchel\u2019s characterization of the incursion as a \u201cflexing of muscles\u201d and meant to \u201cshow them that we can, and we will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to show that we\u2019re willing to rise up, band together and fight if necessary. Same as our forefathers, who established this country in 1776,\u201d Munchel told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a kind of flexing of muscles,\u201d Munchel added. \u201cThe intentions of going in were not to fight the police. The point of getting inside the building is to show them that we can, and we will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-3674209\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" alt=\"capitol\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/capitol-clash-1200x800-1.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3674209\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/capitol-clash-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"capitol\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Protesters clash with police at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Julio Cortez\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n<p>Alex Harkrider, who faces charges of conspiracy and unlawful entry with a dangerous weapon, was alleged in an affidavit (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/page\/file\/1356236\/download\">pdf<\/a>) to have made statements about planning a \u201ccivil war.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The affidavit indicates that a witness contacted the FBI saying that they have photos from Harkrider\u2019s social media pages showing that he stated that he and others were \u201cplanning a civil war.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An affidavit (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/page\/file\/1360786\/download\">pdf<\/a>)\u00a0in the case against Andrew Bennett, who faces charges of disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, indicates that \u201con January 4, 2021 at approximately 5:02 a.m. EST, Bennett posted the following, along with a photograph of a caravan of vehicles on a road carrying American flags: \u2018You better be ready chaos is coming and I will be in DC on 1\/6\/2021 fighting for my freedom!&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the FBI has said it notified other law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Capitol Police, the day before the Capitol incursion about an online message about a \u201cwar\u201d and storming the building. The FBI said on Jan. 12 that the warning was issued through the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the U.S. Capitol Police have members on the task force, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-impeachments-capitol-siege-490620813bdd49295b675715da1f4603?utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow\">The Associated Press reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Washington Post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/capitol-riot-fbi-intelligence\/2021\/01\/12\/30d12748-546b-11eb-a817-e5e7f8a406d6_story.html\">reported that<\/a> an FBI bulletin described that people had been sharing maps of the Capitol\u2019s tunnels and discussed rallying points to meet up to travel to Washington. The newspaper also reported that the document detailed posts calling for violence, including that \u201cCongress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa slave soldiers being spilled.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As former President Donald Trump\u2019s Tuesday impeachment trial approaches, there is a growing body of evidence in criminal complaints and affidavits that the Jan. 6 Capitol breach had been pre-planned, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1892875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5080,4172,4913,5789,5792,3693],"class_list":["post-120799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-breach","tag-capitol","tag-evidence","tag-mounts","tag-pre-planned","tag-that"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1892875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}