The prime-time hearing by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection featured never-before-seen video footage and witness testimony.
WASHINGTON -- The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol laid the blame firmly on Donald Trump Thursday night, saying the assault was hardly spontaneous but an"attempted coup" and a direct result of the defeated president's effort to overturn the 2020 election.
"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."The violence was no accident."ABC News Chief Legal Analyst Dan Abrams breaks down what Americans should expect for the first hearing from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Others showed leaders of the extremist Oath Keepers and Proud Boys preparing to storm the Capitol to stand up for Trump. One rioter after another told the committee they came to the Capitol because Trump asked them to. Trump was angry that Pence, presiding in Congress that day, refused his order to reject the certification of Biden's victory.