{"id":124293,"date":"2021-02-11T09:21:57","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T14:21:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=124293"},"modified":"2021-02-11T09:56:39","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T14:56:39","slug":"democrats-argue-at-impeachment-trial-that-capitol-breach-wasnt-sparked-by-one-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-argue-at-impeachment-trial-that-capitol-breach-wasnt-sparked-by-one-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats Argue at Impeachment Trial That Capitol Breach Wasn\u2019t Sparked by \u2018One Speech\u2019"},"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\">26<\/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%2Fdemocrats-argue-at-impeachment-trial-that-capitol-breach-wasnt-sparked-by-one-speech%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=124293&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>Democrats argued on the second day of former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-impeachment\">impeachment<\/a> trial that the Capitol breach was not caused by a single speech on Jan. 6, but rather the outcome of a months-long model of messaging that sowed doubt about the election and fueled anger among Trump voters by reinforcing the view that they had been cheated out of a win and disenfranchised due to fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), one of the House impeachment managers, prefaced his statement on the Senate floor on Wednesday by playing several clips back-to-back of Trump addressing the crowd on Jan. 6, in which the former president said, \u201cyou have to get your people to fight\u201d and \u201cbecause you\u2019ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong,\u201d and \u201cwe fight, we fight like hell, and if you don\u2019t fight like hell, you\u2019re not going to have a country anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the footage was paused, Neguse addressed the assembly, alleging Trump\u2019s remarks were part of a \u201cmonths-long effort\u201d to incite his supporters to oppose the certification of Electoral College votes for President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenators, this clearly was not just one speech,\u201d Neguse said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t just happen. It was part of a carefully planned months-long effort with a very specific instruction. Show up on January 6 and get your people to fight the certification. He incited it. It was forseeable.\u201d<\/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>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>Trump\u2019s lawyers <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.documentcloud.org\/documents\/20474874-trump-impeachment-trial-memo\">insisted in filings<\/a> that the former president is not guilty on the sole charge of \u201cincitement of insurrection,\u201d calling his rhetoric in a speech on Jan. 6\u2014the day a crowd breached the Capitol\u2014a mere figure of speech.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump used the word \u2018fight\u2019 a little more than a handful of times and each time in the figurative sense that has long been accepted in public discourse when urging people to stand and use their voices to be heard on matters important to them; it was not and could not be construed to encourage acts of violence,\u201d they argued in the filing.<\/p>\n<p>While Trump made several \u201cfight\u201d references\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rev.com\/blog\/transcripts\/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6\">in his Jan. 6 speech,<\/a> he called on supporters to \u201cpeacefully and patriotically\u201d make their voices heard during the joint session of Congress and later denounced the day\u2019s violence.<\/p>\n<p>But Trump\u2019s remarks on Jan. 6 were \u201cnot rhetorical,\u201d Neguse contended. \u201cSome of his supporters had been primed for this over many months,\u201d he argued.<\/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>People storm the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (John Minchillo\/AP Photo, File)<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), another House impeachment manager, echoed Neguse\u2019s remarks by alleging that incitement of the Jan. 6 incident took place over several months.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis attack did not come from one speech and it didn\u2019t happen by accident. The evidence shows clearly that this mob was provoked over many months by Donald J. Trump,\u201d Castro contended.<\/p>\n<p>Castro alleged that in Spring 2020, Trump saw that he was falling behind in the polls \u201cand he was scared. He began to believe that he could legitimately lose the election. And so he did something entirely unprecedented in the history of our nation. He refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Democrat lawmaker alleged that Trump then resorted to a strategy where he began to call into question the validity of the election by making claims that widespread expansion of mail-in balloting would lead to fraud.<\/p>\n<p>In support of his claim, Castro displayed several tweets by Trump, including one dating back to May 24, 2020, in which the former president criticized the massive expansion of mail-in balloting, and wrote, \u201cIt will be the greatest Rigged Election in history.\u201d He referenced another tweet from July 30, 2020, in which the former president wrote that because of universal mail-in voting \u201c2020 will be the most INACCURATE &amp; FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), another House impeachment manager, made similar claims, arguing that Trump\u2019s actions were \u201cdeliberate, planned, and premeditated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was not one speech, not one tweet. It was dozens. In rapid succession,\u201d Swalwell said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was never about one speech. He built this model over many months with repeated messaging until they believed that they had been robbed of their votes and would do anything to stop the certification. He made them believe that their victory was stolen and incited them so he could use them to steal the election for himself,\u201d Swalwell alleged.<\/p>\n<p>The line of argumentation that Trump\u2019s alleged incitement was part of a months-long strategy enabled by a messaging model that fueled frustration among his supporters appears to take aim at one of the lines of defense that Trump\u2019s legal team has floated. The former president\u2019s lawyers argued in filings that\u00a0evidence showing that people preplanned the breach proves Trump couldn\u2019t have incited the incident in his Jan. 6 speech.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Federal Bureau of Investigation has confirmed that\u00a0the breach at the Capitol was planned several days in advance of the rally, and therefore had nothing to do with the President\u2019s speech on January 6th,\u201d they argued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEither the President incited the riots, like the Article claims, or the riots were pre-planned by a small group of criminals who deserve punishment to the fullest extent of the law,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s lawyers have also contended that the incitement of insurrection charge against Trump is not rooted in fact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn insurrection\u2014unlike a riot\u2014is an organized movement acting for the express purpose to overthrow and take possession of a government\u2019s powers,\u201d they wrote in filings, arguing that Trump\u2019s speech \u201cwas not an act encouraging an organized movement to overthrow the United States government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-3651739\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/capitol-building-2-1200x800-1.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3651739\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/capitol-building-2-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Protesters storm the Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2020. (Ahmed Gaber\/Reuters)<\/p>\n<p>Last month, the House voted 232\u2013197, including 10 Republicans, to impeach Trump on the sole charge of inciting an insurrection.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s acquittal in the Senate, however, is near certain as 17 Republicans would have to join all Democrats in voting to convict.<\/p>\n<p>According to a tally by The Epoch Times, 35 Republican senators have suggested or committed to voting to acquit Trump.<\/p>\n<p>If Trump were to be convicted, the Senate could hold a subsequent vote to bar him from ever holding office again. Unlike an impeachment conviction, which requires two-thirds of the Senate to be adopted, only a simple majority would be required to\u00a0ban Trump from future office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats argued on the second day of former President Donald Trump\u2019s impeachment trial that the Capitol breach was not caused by a single speech on Jan. 6, but rather the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1893179,"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":[4851,4172,3685,3636,3693,4853],"class_list":["post-124293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-argue","tag-capitol","tag-democrats","tag-impeachment","tag-that","tag-trial"],"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\/124293","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=124293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1893179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}