Thread by @PaulaChertok

Raskin: Trump praised, encouraged & cultivated violence. He became the Inciter-in-Chief. The Jan 6 mob organized openly. They were sent here by the President. They were invited here by him. When they showed up, he whipped them into a frenzy to "fight like hell." #ImpeachmentTrial

.@RepJoeNeguse: This wasn't just a speech. It didn't just happen. Trump's words were carefully chosen. They had specific meaning to that crowd. He repeated the same words—the drumbeat—for wks: Election was stolen —Stop the Steal—Fight Like Hell to Stop the Steal #ImpeachmentTrial

Rep Neguse: Trump's speech was part of a carefully crafted plan. The crowd understood his words b/c they had heard them before—for months. His rally speech ended w/ a final call to arms, to the mob he assembled & incited to violently stop the transfer of power. #ImpeachmentTrial

.@JulianCastro: Senators, This is dangerous. The Commander-in-Chief telling his supporters the election was stolen, to stop the votes. His words led to their actions. Trump tweeted commands, & armed protesters disrupted election officials across the country. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro Castro: Trump's words weren't rhetorical. They were commands. They led to actions. He incited the mob w/ lies. He said the election was stolen—"rigged"—6 months BEFORE—when he was losing in polls. He primed the mob to attack. Then he told them where & when. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro .@EricSwalwell: There was plenty of evidence that his words had consequences. Trump wasn't shy about using his platforms to stop threats. But he didn't. In the face of escalating violence, he incited them further. He directed all the rage he incited on Jan 6. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell Swalwell: Trump built the mob for months—deliberate, planned, premeditated incitement to his base. For weeks he planned for Jan 6 to fight to "stop the steal." Trump & his organizers told his angry supporters it was their duty & they'd make history doing it. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell 🔥@abbydphillip: Some of the Republican senators sitting in the chamber are complicit in pushing the lies—fake irregularities, election fraud, stolen election. So this #ImpeachmentTrial isn't just about Trump. It's also about the GOP. (Notably @LindseyGrahamSC @HawleyMO @tedcruz)

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell Madeleine Dean chronicles Trump's pressure campaign to overturn election results: His lawsuits weren't pursuing election integrity. He was using the courts to steal the election himself. When he lost in the courts, he began lobbying, threatening state officials. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell Madeleine Kane: Let's be clear. This is the President telling the Georgia Secy of State to find votes—the exact number he lost the state by. To manufacture fraud. Trump did this across state after state. So often. So loudly. Senators, we can't be numb to this. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell .@tedlieu chronicles Trump's threats to Republicans b/c they would not pretend he won when he had not. He made specific threats in tweets. The president wasn't just coming for Democrats. He was coming for you. He was coming for all us, just as the mob did. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Lieu: VP Pence shows us what it means to be an American. What courage is. Trump was so desperate to cling to power, when his actions pressuring & threatening public servants—from lawsuits to attacking his own Vice President—failed, he turned to mob violence. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Stacey Plaskett: Trump fanned the flame of violence— deliberately encouraged it. This was months of cultivating a base that was violent. By the time he called them to Jan 6, he had every reason to know they were armed and violent. He knew who he was calling. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Plaskett: Proud Boys were prominent at Trump rallies before the US Capitol attack. When asked to condemn them, Trump said "Stand back & stand by." His message was heard loud & clear. PBs made his words their logo. Trump had them on stand by for Jan 6 violence. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Plasket: Trump joked about a white supremacist caravan running a Biden bus off a Texas highway. He tweeted the video & added fight music. He called them "patriots." Engaging in violence for him made them patriots to him. He cultivated violent fans to stand by. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Plaskett: They were told they were the cavalry. No one else cld do it. Trump cultivated violent fans. When he saw what they were capable of, he planned Jan 6 & made sure those violent ppl would march here to the Capitol. His team monitored insurrectionist sites. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Plaskett: Violence was planned. The mob had maps of Capitol tunnels, ear pieces to communicate. 100s of posts of war/attack on Jan 6 on sites monitored by Trump team. They did it openly b/c they knew Trump supported it. Fox reported Proud Boys were coming Jan 6. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu The #Impeachment managers are making such a damning case for conviction, I can't imagine anyone—let alone Senators who were victims & witnesses to the attack—paying attention able to ignore the horror of what he unleashed. I'm shaking just listening & tweeting. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Dean: He assembled people at Jan 6 rally he knew were violent. Same lies he spread for months. Now it wasn't just fight, but fight right now. Trump said fight 20 times & peaceful once in 70 minutes. The crowd understood his words of insurrection & incitement. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Dean's voice shaking, as she recounts the moment she knew the mob breached the Capitol: "And at 2:30 I heard that terrifying banging on the door. For the first time in 200 years, the seat of our government was ransacked on our watch."

#ImpeachmentTrial

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1359604548059467786

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu The sounds of the attack are horrifying. Plaskett plays radio communication from Capitol police after the mob breached security. Police sent out evacuation orders to Congress. And then police said "This is now effectively a riot." #ImpeachmentTrial #Impeachment

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Plaskett: Security footage shows 2nd man breaking thru window is in full tactical gear. One had a bat. These were Proud Boys. They were coming at the urging of Trump to stop certifying the election. They were hunting Pence. They were feet away from this chamber. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Plaskett: They were out to murder anyone they got their hands on, incl. Speaker Pelosi & VP Pence. Pence was locked down w/ his family. He was threatened with death b/c he wouldn't overturn the election for Trump. Mob looked for "Crazy Nancy"—Trump's nickname! #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Terrorized staffers barricaded inside whisper as they heard rioters bang on doors, looking for Pelosi & vandalize the Speaker's office. Barnett had a stun gun tucked into his pants. Trump's mob put a target on lawmakers' backs. His mob came to hunt them down. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Swalwell plays new radio communication from DC Met Police. Cop's voice shakes with terror, saying "We lost the line." He radios the code for "officer down."

I never want to hear Republicans dare utter support for law enforcement. They blessed Trump's terror.

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Republicans afraid to convict Trump after today's presentation, watching videos of their colleagues—Pence, Schumer, Romney—running from the mob hunting them b/c Trump put a target on them, should not show up to vote. They'll never overcome acquitting Trump now. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu For an hour, as buildings were being cleared, pipe-bombs found, the mob attacks Capitol police, we heard nothing from Trump. He didn't denounce the mob. Instead he released a propaganda video of the very StopTheSteal rally speech that incited the mob that day. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu .@davidcicilliine: As armed insurrectionists attacked, Trump watched it on TV, delighted that the election certification stopped, Trump calls the Senate. But not to help Congress. but to join forces w/ the mob, asking Sen. Tuberville to delay the certification. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Castro: By 2:15pm the mob was chanting "Hang Mike Pence." Even if Trump didn't know his words would lead to attacking Pence, by then he knew. 1.5 hours into the attack, he further incited the mob—against his own VP. The mob had erected a noose at the Capitol. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Nearly 2 hours after the siege began, Trump tweeted "stay peaceful." Peaceful? These folks were not peaceful! This was a violent armed attack. How about "Stop the attack." "Stop the violence." "Leave." But he didn't. B/c the truth is, he didn't want it to stop. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu People begged Trump to call it off. He refused. Hour later, he tweeted "Thank you." FOR WHAT? For injuring 140 police officers? He didn't call it off. And refused to deploy National Guard. He was disengaged. This was dereliction of duty by the Commander-In Chief #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Castro: The Capitol police were completely overwhelmed, outnumbered, & brutally attacked. But Trump refused to help. Instead of calling them off, he says he loves them. Senators, on Jan 6, President Trump left every one of us in this Capitol for dead. #ImpeachmentTrial

@JulianCastro @ericswalwell @tedlieu Castro: "Remember this day"—Trump finally tweeted, celebrating the attack. I will remember that day. But Trump failed. After hours of terror, the will of the ppl prevailed. Election was certified. We all abided by our oaths, even if Trump didn't abide by his. #ImpeachmentTrial