Save America
12:08 AM: President Trump tweets: “Just happened to have found another 4000 ballots from Fulton County. Here we go!”
President Trump will tweet 13 more times before he appears to speak at the Ellipse stage at noon—complaints about the vote in Georgia and his belief that Pennsylvania will somehow flip to Trump and, finally, before 1:00 a.m., tweeting: “If Vice President @Mike_pence comes through for us, we will win the Presidency.”
6:25 AM: Drew Hernandez of Tatum Report tweets: “MASSIVE line to get into The Ellipse to where President @ realdonaldtrump will be speaking at the ‘March For Trump Rally’...the line is already wrapping around the Washington Monument. It is still dark out, images to come.”
Hernandez is the host of Lives Matter on Youtube.
7:11 AM: Republican Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, tweets: “We have sworn an oath under God to defend the Constitution. We uphold that oath at all times, not only when it is politically convenient. Congress has no authority to overturn elections by objecting to electors. Doing so steals power from the states & violates the Constitution.”
7:15 AM: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) tweets: “Might as well have served Georgia up on a silver platter and spoon fed sliced peaches to the Socialists Democrats! @Gasecofstate enabled the steal. #GA legislatures never convened, but some tried. @Briankempga did nothing. All while GA people screamed to #Stopthesteai...”
Rep. Greene has repeatedly endorsed Qanon conspiracy theories, a melange of claims that a deep state cabal has destroyed the presidency of Donald Trump. She will tweet 19 more times during the day and evening. On Sunday, January 17, Twitter locked Rep. Greene’s account, citing violations of a company policy that it recently used to remove thousands of Qanon-related accounts.
8:17 AM: President Trump tweets: “... All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the States, AND WE WIN. Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!”
8:20 AM: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tweets: “Buckle up!”
8:27 AM: CSPAN begins live coverage of the “March to Save America” rally (hosted by Women for America First).
8:30 AM: D.C. Police tweets: “First Amendment Activity...demonstrations are scheduled to occur in DC. There will be parking restrictions & potential street closures that motorists should take into consideration.”
8:30 AM: Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark Milley meet to review the Pentagon plan for defense support to civil authorities (DSCA) in the case of an emergency in the District of Columbia. They request that commanders and decision makers conduct a table-top exercise covering potential contingency response options.
The exercise is held at 11:30 AM, but no military forces would be placed on the streets of Washington, D.C. on January 6.
8:35 AM: The U.S. Secret Service, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, tweets: “Individuals attending today’s event on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. are reminded of items prohibited by the U.S. Secret Service.”
The prohibitions—on backpacks, body armor, mace/pepper spray, etc.—is ignored and never enforced. This is the first and last public dispatch by the Secret Service on January 6. Vice President Pence’s protective detail accompanied him to the Capitol and may have been present to evacuate the two other Constitutional successors to the presidency—speaker Nancy Pelosi and President pro tempore of the Senate Chuck Grassley, but other than that, a heavily armed Secret Service special operations team would not arrive at the Capitol until mid-afternoon.
8:36 AM: Daniella Diaz of CNN tweets: “... Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be on Capitol Hill today to fulfill her duties in the Senate, per a Senate aide.”
Sen. Harris was kept under wraps all day, on Capitol Hill, to avoid her being a target.
9:01 AM: Michael Brice-saddler of The Washington Post tweets: “It’s difficult to illustrate just how dense this crowd of Trump Supporters is in downtown D.C. hours before President Trump is expected to speak.”
Emily Davies of The Washington Post tweets at 9:03 AM from the rally: “...One man in the crowd turned to his friend and said, ‘they can come take my gun one bullet at a time.’ Another marched with a large camouflage backpack and a flag that said ‘Come and take it.’”
9:09 AM: Republican Policy Committee Chairman Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) tweets and issues a statement. “I have concerns about how several states conducted the 2020 election. So, I’ve joined many colleagues in an intent to reject some electors, where we think a constitutional violation occurred.”
9:16 AM: At the official opening of the Save America Rally, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) speaks: “Today is a time of choosing and tomorrow is a time of fighting. Today is also a day of revelation and separation... Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.”
Aaron Rupar of Vox News tweets: “Mo Brooks begins the Trump “Save America Rally” on a profane and angry note.”
The Boston Globe later reports: “The streets outside the White House took the shape of a Trump campaign rally, with diehard fans railing against Democrats, communists and Antifa and chanting ‘Stop the Steal.’
‘We don’t want to lose our country,’ said John Waynesboro, 50, a mill operator from Pennsylvania who walked with friends and waved a bright yellow, ‘Don’t Tread on me’ flag. He said he knew it was stolen because ‘you never see this kind of love pouring out for a president as you do for President Trump.’
One man simply shouted conspiracy theories as he made his way to the rally, calling Chief Justice Roberts ‘a pedophile’ and ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing.’
Many, like Jan Sheffield, 55, a stay-athome mom from Georgia, arrived on buses after riding through the night. Decked out in Trump buttons and holding Trump flags attached to a fishing pole, she said she was in Washington ‘to take our country back.’
When asked who she and other protesters were taking the country back from, Sheffield fought tears as answered: ‘From the wicked, those who want a socialist nation and those that sold the US to China—d and R alike.’
‘I’m from Georgia, and they stole our two Senate seats,’ said Sheffield...‘we are here to make sure that what happened in the presidential election doesn’t happen in Georgia, too.’”
There is still no official tally of the size of the crowd nor belief that a march on the Capitol might include a violent takeover.
9:44 AM: Mark Segraves, an NBC 4 Washington reporter, tweets a video: “Federal Bureau of Prison[s] officers [in tactical gear] deployed in DC streets around DOJ HQ.”
At 9:50 AM, Mark Balsamo of the AP responds: “The Bureau of Prisons said yesterday the group of about 100 officers sent to supplement the Justice Protective Service officers at DOJ HQ ‘will remain in a reserve capacity unless needed by the existing DOJ security teams.’”
The camouflage-clad team was clearly in place to protect the Department, but there is no evidence that BOP officers assisted at the Capitol on January 6.
9:51 AM: Igor Bobic of Huffington Post tweets “Gonna be a long day,” posting a picture showing protest signs pre-positioned outside the front of the Capitol Building, waiting for protesters.