WASHINGTON – House Democrats prosecuting Donald Trump’s impeachment trial for inciting the deadly siege of the Capitol played chilling security video on Wednesday showing members of the pro-Trump mob searching the building for his vice president, chanting: “Hang Mike Pence!”
Previously unseen videos showed the view from inside the Capitol as rioters smashed windows and fought with police on January 6, coming within 100 feet (30 m) of the room where Pence was sheltering with his family. The mob had set up a gallows outside.
The footage, which also included body-camera views of brutal attacks on Capitol police, showed Pence and lawmakers being hustled to safety steps ahead of an advancing mob that stormed the building, resulting in the death of five people, including a police officer.
The House of Representatives has charged Trump, a Republican, with inciting an insurrection by exhorting thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol on the day Congress was gathered to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Trump’s lawyers argue his rhetoric is protected by the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech and that the trial is politically motivated.
Conviction, while unlikely in the closely divided Senate, could lead to a vote to bar Trump from running for office again
The video footage highlighted the fact that hundreds of Trump supporters who attacked the building in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power targeted Republicans – whose votes would be needed to convict Trump.
House managers prosecuting the case frequently highlighted the threat to Pence. Trump had repeatedly said Pence had the power to stop the certification of the election results, even though he did not.
“The mob was looking for Vice President Pence,” Representative Stacey Plaskett said, narrating footage that showed the crowd chanting: “Hang Mike Pence!” and searching for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“President Trump put a target on their backs and then his mob broke into the Capitol to hunt them down,” she said.
Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro said that during the rampage, Trump tweeted that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done”. A video showed rioters spreading word of Trump’s tweet to one another on bullhorns.
“He further incites the mob against his own vice president, whose life was being threatened,” Castro said.
House managers prosecuting the case also said Trump did little to stop the violence as it spiralled out of control, despite pleas from many Republicans to ask his supporters to stop.
They said he had planted the seeds for the riot by encouraging violence and making false claims the election was stolen long before January 6.
Several Republican senators said the security footage was emotional, but many added it did not change their minds.
“He bears some responsibility for what happened that day, but … that doesn’t mean that impeachment is the right way to address it,” said Senator Marco Rubio, who added he thought the best approach was federal prosecution.
Trump’s lawyers, who will have 16 hours to deliver their side of the argument after the House managers are finished, said the video and other evidence presented by Democrats had not made the case for his culpability. (Reuters)
