Democratic California Rep. Norma Torres claimed without evidence Wednesday that former President Donald Trump planned the Jan. 6 Capitol riot back in 2016.
Speaking on MSNBC, Torres claimed Trump and his allies knew the president would lose his reelection bid so they began planning the Jan. 6 riot.
“Yesterday’s testimony was another gut punch to every single one of us who was on that balcony face down crawling through rows and rows of seats to safety with, you know, hardly any officers in sight,” Torres said. “As a former 911 dispatcher, listening to the radio traffic of officers screaming, asking for help through that entire ordeal, what that tells me is that every one of those Republicans that have been identified in the leadership, the GOP leadership in Congress, in the Senate, knew about it, they were in on it.”
“They knew that the President was trying to force his way into staying another four years. More and more to me it appears to me that this was something that was being planned from day one after his first election way back in — when he first won. They were planning the reelection.” (RELATED: Yet Another Detail From Bombshell J6 Testimony Contested)
“They knew they couldn’t win because they have a candidate who was so grossly incompetent in being the president of the United States. Every time he opened his mouth it was violence. Violence against immigrants, violence against women and violence against LGBTQ community. Anybody who would stand in his way and not agree with him.”
There have been no reports supporting Torres’ claim that Trump conspired to plan the Jan. 6 riots in 2016.
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified Tuesday that Trump tried to lunge for the steering wheel on Jan. 6 in order to get to the Capitol to march with protesters. She claimed she spoke with the deputy chief of staff for operations, Tony Ornato, in a meeting that U.S. Secret Service special agent Robert Engel was present for. Sources close to the Secret Service have denied her claims and said both Engel and the driver are prepared to testify that Trump never tried to grab the wheel or attack either man.
Hutchinson also claimed a handwritten letter, presented by Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, was written by her. Former lawyer Eric Herschmann, however, claimed he was the one who wrote the letter, according to ABC News.