Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., spoke on July 12 as the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack presented its findings to the public. The focus of the hearing was on extremist far-right groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers and the role they played in the Capitol insurrection.
She showed the speech that had been written for former President Donald Trump to speak at the rally ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and highlighted several last-minute edits that included pressure against former Vice President Mike Pence. White House advisers pushed back on these lines and ultimately Trump added more ad-libs about Pence and references to push rally goers to march to the Capitol. Murphy pointed to certain ad-libbed parts of Trump’s speech in a video presentation.
“We fight like hell,” Trump said in his speech. “And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore. But we’re going to try and give our Republicans – the weak ones because the strong ones don’t need any of our help – we’re going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country. So let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Murphy also pointed to a text exchange from Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale with former campaign spokesperson Katrina Pierson.
Parscale texted “if i was trump and knew my rhetoric killed someone.” He reiterated that the rhetoric was the impetus and even led to a death during the Jan. 6 attack when Pierson pushed back.
Murphy said Trump had delivered a message built on “a foundation of lies.”
“He lied to his supporters that the election was stolen. He stoked their anger. He called for them to fight for him. He directed them to the U.S. Capitol. He told them he would join them and his supporters believed him and many headed towards the capital. As a result, people died. People were injured. Many of his supporters’ lives will never be the same.”
In the year since its creation, the committee has conducted more than 1,000 interviews, seeking critical information and documents from people witness to, or involved in, the violence that day.
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