In the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, American political leaders almost universally condemned the riot as an act of domestic terrorism that threatened democracy. Now, President Trump calls Jan. 6 a “day of love” and the rioters “great patriots.” And since he issued mass pardons to the rioters, his administration has been trying to rewrite history.
NPR has tracked every Jan. 6 prosecution in a public database, and, drawing on thousands of hours of footage and years of reporting, created a front-line account of the riot. The evidence vividly shows the planning for “revolution” and the brutality of violence on a day that continues to shape American politics.
Explore the database and coverage, or scroll to read the full narrative.
This material includes profanity, violence and references to suicide.
Chapter 1: The run-up
Heading into the 2020 presidential election, the country was engulfed by overlapping crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged lockdowns, along with mass protests, counterprotests and, at times, violent unrest following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
During a presidential debate between Trump and Joe Biden, Trump was asked whether he would condemn violence from the far right as well as the far left.
TRUMP: Do you want to call them — what do you want to call them? Give me a name, give me a name. Go ahead, who would you like me to condemn?
CHRIS WALLACE, MODERATOR: White supremacists and racists.
BIDEN: Proud Boys.
WALLACE: White supremacists and white militias.
BIDEN: Proud Boys.
TRUMP: Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you what: Somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem, this is a left-wing — this is a left-wing problem.
The Proud Boys, a right-wing street gang with a history of violence, received a boost in membership following Trump’s comments.
Ahead of the 2020 election, Trump repeatedly claimed that the only way he could lose was through cheating.
“And hopefully we have judges that are going to give it a fair call, because if they give it a fair call, we’re gonna win this election. The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election. We’re gonna win this election. We’re gonna win this election.”
Chapter 2: “Stop the Steal”
On election night, long before election officials or news networks had declared a winner, Trump claimed that he had won and that the election was being stolen from him.
“This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election.”
Almost immediately, Trump, his campaign and his allies were leading what they called the “Stop the Steal” movement.