WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Trump supporters gathered in the nation's capital today to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
On Thursday, former President Donald Trump released a statement denouncing the prosecution of hundreds of his supporters who mobbed the Capitol during the January 6 riot.
“Our hearts and minds are with the people being persecuted so unfairly relating to the January 6th protest concerning the Rigged Presidential Election,” Trump said in a statement issued by his Save America PAC. “In addition to everything else, it has proven conclusively that we are a two-tiered system of justice. In the end, however, JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!”
Trump’s statement came as the Capitol Police has been boosting security and training ahead of the potential violent pro-Trump rally scheduled on September 18.
On Monday, a 44-year-old man from California was arrested near the Democratic National Committee (DNC) building after the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) found illegal weapons in his car.
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“We have a robust security posture planned for September 18,” the Capitol Police statement from earlier this month read. “All available staff will be working.”
Trump has been defending the rioters despite the violence seen that day.
In July, Trump once again made a controversial statement about the January 6 riot, claiming that “love was in the air” that day.
Republican leaders have been unsupportive of a January 6 commission to investigate the riot. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said in May that the investigation would not be helpful in finding out what happened.
Other Republican senators complained that the commission is part of a vendetta against the former president.
More than 570 Trump supporters have been charged for participating in the deadly riot. The tragic event has left four dead, including Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a police officer during the riot.
Brian Sicknick, a Capitol officer on duty during the insurrection, died after being hit with a fire extinguisher while trying to contain the rioters. Four Capitol officers have committed suicide following the event.
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