House Democrats leading the prosecution of Donald Trump at his impeachment trial said the rioters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6 were taking direct orders from the former president.
The attempt to directly link Trump’s words with the actions of the mob that assaulted Congress last month came on the second and final day of arguments allotted to Democrats to make their case against the former president in the Senate trial.
On Thursday House Democrats used the words of the rioters who claimed they were following Trump’s instructions on the day of the attack while offering examples of the former president’s pattern of encouraging violence against his political opponents.
“Leading up to the attack, the insurrectionists said they were coming to DC for president Trump. He invited them, with clear instructions for a specific time and place, and with clear orders: stop the certification in Congress by any means necessary,” said Diana DeGette, a Democrat…