Panel blames Trump for ‘attempted coup’ At least five dead in separate shootings
The hearings may not change views on the attack, but the probe is meant to stand as its public record
WASHINGTON: The House panel investigating the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol laid the blame firmly on former president Donald Trump on Thursday, saying the assault was an “attempted coup” and a direct result of the defeated president’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Chaired by Democratic leader Bennie Thompson, with Republican leader Liz Cheney — a rare dissenter from the GOP who consistently opposed Trump’s unconstitutional moves and called out her own party colleagues for their stance — as the vice-chair, the committee hearings were broadcast live on prime time on Thursday night in the US.
With a never-before-seen 12-minute video of extremist groups leading the deadly siege and startling testimony from Trump’s most inner circle, the 1/6 committee provided gripping detail in contending that
Trump’s repeated lies about election fraud and his public effort to stop Joe Biden’s victory led to the attack and imperiled American democracy
“Democracy remains in danger,” said Thompson, D-miss during the hearing, timed for prime time to reach as many Americans as possible.
“Jan 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup, a brazen attempt, as one rioter put it shortly after Jan 6, to overthrow the government,” Thompson said.
Ahead of the midterm elections in November, and with Trump considering another
White House run, the committee’s final report aims to account for the most violent attack on the Capitol since 1814, and to ensure such an attack never happens again.
Testimony showed on Thursday how Trump desperately clung to his own false claims of election fraud, beckoning supporters to the Capitol on January 6 when Congress would certify the results, despite those around him insisting Biden had won the election.
On Friday, President Joe Biden warned that the “forces” behind the deadly insurrection remain a threat to US democracy. “It’s important the American people understand what truly happened, and to understand that the same forces that led to January 6 remain at work today,” he said during an address in Los Angeles.
With inputs from agencies
READ THE FULL STORY: Cheney lays out plan for next hearings
SMITHSBURG, MARYLAND: An employee opened fire at a manufacturing business in rural western Maryland on Thursday, killing three co-workers before the suspect and a state trooper were wounded in a shoot-out, authorities said.
Washington county sheriff Doug Mullendore said that three victims were found dead at Columbia Machine Inc in Smithsburg and a fourth victim was critically injured. The sheriff said at a news conference that the victims and suspect were all employees at the facility.
The suspect fled in a vehicle before authorities arrived at the scene and was tracked down by Maryland state police, Mullendore said. The suspect and a trooper were wounded in an exchange of gunfire, according to the sheriff. Mullendore said the suspect was a 42-year-old man but declined to release his name while criminal charges were being prepared.
Separately. a police officer has died along with one other person after an officer-involved shooting on Thursday in an eastern Mississippi city, authorities said, adding a suspect was being sought.
The Mississippi bureau of investigation said in a statement that it is investigating the shooting and also seeking the public’s help in locating a 31-year-old suspect who could be armed and dangerous. The police officer wasn’t immediately identified and authorities did not disclose specifics other than to say the were investigating an officer-involved shooting.
‘Potential intruder’ killed at Alabama school
A man who tried to enter an Alabama elementary school where a summer programme was being held was shot to death by police on Thursday morning, authorities said.
Gadsden City Schools Superintendent Tony Reddick said that a “potential intruder” went to several doors trying to get into Walnut Park Elementary School, where a summer programme was being conducted for 34 children.