Who were they? Records reveal Trump supporters who stormed Capitol
By MICHAEL BIESECKER, MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, GILLIAN FLACCUS and JIM MUSTIAN The Associated Press,Updated January 11, 2021, 9:36 a.m.
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Rioters and Capitol police clashed on Jan. 6.Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
WASHINGTON (AP) â They came from across America, summoned by President Donald Trump to march on Washington in support of his false claim that the November election was stolen and to stop the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden as the victor.
âBig protest in D.C. on January 6th,â Trump tweeted a week before Christmas. âBe there, will be wild!â
The insurrectionist mob that showed up at the president's behest and stormed the U.S. Capitol was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists, members of the military and adherents of the QAnon myth.
The Associated Press reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people either facing criminal charges related to the Jan. 6 unrest or who were later identified through photographs and videos taken during the melee. They were overwhelmingly longtime Trump supporters.