Timeline at Capitol Shows President’s Speech Could Not Have Caused Riot

The timeline of events at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, published by the Washington Post shows President Trump’s remarks that day could not have caused rioting at the U.S. Capitol.  The timeline shows Trump started speaking at 12 noon.  He ended at 1:10 p.m.  However, protesters gathered outside the Capitol at 12:30 p.m. and confronted Capitol Police.  

Protesters broke through Capitol Police barricades at 1 p.m. — 10 minutes before Trump finished his speech.  Anyone who attended Trump’s speech was a 45-minute walk away from the Capitol.  The area was closed to traffic. So walking was the only practical way to get to the Capitol.  

As the Washington Post said, Trump ended his speech by urging his followers to march down Pennsylvania Avenue. “We’re going to the Capitol,” he said. “We’re going to try and give them [Republicans] the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”  

However, that was 10 minutes AFTER protestors had already broken through the barricades and at least an hour before anyone who heard Trump’s speech could have gotten there.  

C-SPAN reported rioters were in Statuary Hall in the center of the Capitol building at 1:33 p.m.  That’s well before anyone could have heard the end of Trump’s speech and then walked to the Capitol. Nevertheless, Trump is blamed for events before he spoke.