Donald Trump reacted to the vote to press criminal charges against him in the Capitol Hill riots case and said it strengthens him.
Former US President Donald Trump (File photo)
By India Today Web Desk: Former US President Donald Trump reacted to the vote by the US House of Representatives panel on the Capitol riots asking federal prosecutors to charge him with four crimes, including obstruction and insurrection, for his role in sparking the attack on January 6, 2021. He scoffed at the panel and said their actions “strengthen me”.
“These folks don’t get it that when they come after me, people who love freedom rally around me. It strengthens me,” Trump was quoted by Washington Times as saying. He added that the Democrats on the panel recommended that the Justice Department charge him with criminal charges because they want to stop his presidential campaign for 2024.
Trump also compared the panel’s move to charge him with the crimes to his second impeachment, which ended with the US Senate failing to obtain enough votes to convict him.
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“The people understand that the Democratic Bureau of Investigation, the DBI, are out to keep me from running for president because they know I’ll win and that this whole business of prosecuting me is just like impeachment was – a partisan attempt to sideline me and the Republican Party,” he said.
He also defended himself and claimed that he “pushed for 20,000 troops to prevent violence on January 6, and that I went on television and told everyone to go home.”
WHAT IS THE CAPITOL HILL RIOT?
On January 6, 2021, a massive gathering of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building when the US Congress had convened to certify Biden’s victory as the next president of the United States. The bid to overturn the election results, however, failed as the US Congress reconvened to certify Biden.
The violence and rioting inside the Capitol building resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including a police officer. A woman was shot dead by police during the rioting.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party’s support for Trump seems to be diminishing after the probe panel’s vote as party leaders avoided the criminal referral. When AP pressed some leaders to weigh in, they offered muted defenses or none at all.
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