8

ANALYSIS OF THE ATTACK

Late in the evening on January 6, 2021, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, the head of the Proud Boys, posted a video on his Parler account. The brief footage showed a masked man, wearing a black cape, standing in front of the U.S. Capitol Building. Tarrio titled the 18-second video, set to ominous music, “Premonition.” He offered no further explanation. The clear implication of the brief footage, recorded sometime prior to January 6th, was that Tarrio had foreknowledge of the events that transpired earlier that same day.1

Indeed, Tarrio cheered on his fellow Proud Boys as they attacked the U.S. Capitol. He had been arrested and ordered to leave Washington, DC two days earlier. Although Tarrio was not physically present, he continued to monitor and communicate with his men via encrypted chats and social media. At 2:36 p.m. on January 6th, Tarrio wrote on Parler that he was “enjoying the show,” adding: “Do what must be done” and “#WeThePeople.” 2 Two minutes later, Tarrio wrote: “Don’t fucking leave.” Several minutes after that, Tarrio messaged his Proud Boys: “Make no mistake…” and “We did this…” 3

Law enforcement officials subsequently uncovered significant evidence showing that Tarrio and his lieutenants planned to storm the U.S. Capitol. In June 2022, Tarrio and four other Proud Boys were charged with seditious conspiracy and other crimes related to their alleged responsibility for the assault.4 The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has alleged that they “conspired to prevent, hinder and delay the certification of the Electoral College vote, and to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States.” 5 On January 6, 2021, the Proud Boys “directed, mobilized and led members of the crowd onto the Capitol grounds and into the Capitol, leading to dismantling of metal barricades, destruction of property, breaching of the Capitol building, and assaults on law enforcement.” 6

The Select Committee’s analysis corroborates the DOJ’s findings and allegations. The Select Committee reviewed extensive footage of the attack, including that recorded by the U.S. Capitol Police’s (USCP) surveillance cameras, the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) body-worn cameras, publicly available videos, as well as on-the-ground film produced by an embedded documentarian. The Select Committee interviewed rioters, law enforcement officers, and witnesses that were present on January 6th, while also consulting thousands of court filings. Using these sources of information, the Select Committee developed a timeline of events to understand how the unprecedented attack on the U.S. Capitol unfolded.

As explained below, the Proud Boys marched from the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol on the morning of January 6th. While tens of thousands of President Trump’s supporters gathered at a rally at the Ellipse near the White House, the Proud Boys prepared to attack. Shortly before the joint session of Congress was set to begin at 1:00 p.m., the Proud Boys instigated an assault on outmanned law enforcement at the Peace Circle, a key location. They quickly overran security barriers and made their way onto the U.S. Capitol’s restricted grounds. Throughout the next several hours, members of the Proud Boys led the attack at key breach points, preventing law enforcement from gaining crowd control and inciting others to press forward.

President Trump finished his speech at the Ellipse at approximately 1:10 p.m. Toward the end of his remarks, the President directed his supporters to march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol. Their natural path took them through the Peace Circle, which had already been cleared out by the Proud Boys and their associates. Thousands of rioters and protestors streamed onto the Capitol’s restricted grounds in short order.

The Proud Boys were not solely responsible for attacking the U.S. Capitol. As explained in Chapter 6, other far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists prepared for violence after President Trump summoned them to Washington for a “wild” protest on January 6th. And they joined in the assault as well. Three Percenters, QAnon adherents, and other radicals were on the frontlines, pressing the charge. The Oath Keepers attacked the Capitol, forming two military-style “stacks” to push their way into the building. The white nationalist Groypers were present as their leader gave an inflammatory speech from the same Peace Circle where the attack was launched. Like members of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and Three Percenters, some of the Groypers have been charged for their actions on January 6th.

Unaffiliated Americans enraged by President Trump’s lies rioted as well. The January 6th, attack has often been described as a riot—and that is partly true. Some of those who trespassed on the Capitol’s grounds or entered the building did not plan to do so beforehand. But it is also true that extremists, conspiracy theorists and others were prepared to fight. That is an insurrection. They answered President Trump’s call to action. Some, like the Proud Boys, deliberately harnessed the mob’s anger to overrun the Capitol.

8.1 The Mob Assembles in Washington

During the early morning hours of January 6th, tens of thousands of Americans from around the country began to gather at the Ellipse and the Washington Monument. They had come to hear President Trump speak and, more importantly, for his “wild” protest.

Nick Quested, a documentary filmmaker, captured the mood that morning. Jacob Chansley (a.k.a. the QAnon Shaman) proclaimed “this is our 1776,” vowing “Joe Biden is never getting in.” 7 An unnamed woman from Georgia, who said she hosted a podcast dedicated to a new so-called Patriot Party, also proclaimed January 6th to be the new 1776. She added an ominous warning. “I’m not allowed to say what’s going to happen today because everyone’s just going to have to watch. Something’s gonna happen, one way or the other.” 8

The Secret Service set up magnetometers to screen for weapons and other contraband, but many rally-goers chose to avoid the screening altogether.

At 6:29 a.m., Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, reminded his group’s members that DC prohibited blades over “3 inches” and encouraged them to “[k]eep [the knives] low profile.” 9 Others were thinking along the same lines. At 7:25 a.m., the National Park Service reported that a significant number of attendees ditched their bags in trees, rather than have them inspected.10 Cassidy Hutchinson told the Select Committee she heard that thousands of people refused to walk through magnetometers to enter the Ellipse because they did not want to be screened for weapons.11 According to Hutchinson, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations whose responsibilities included security-related issues, Tony Ornato, told the President that the onlookers “don’t want to come in right now. They—they have weapons that they don’t want confiscated by the Secret Service.” 12 When he arrived at the Ellipse that morning, President Trump angrily said: “I don’t [fucking] care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me. They can march to the Capitol from here.” 13

Approximately 28,000 rally-goers did pass through the magnetometers. The Secret Service confiscated a significant number of prohibited items from these people, including: 269 knives or blades, 242 cannisters of pepper spray, 18 brass knuckles, 18 tasers, 6 pieces of body armor, 3 gas masks, 30 batons or blunt instruments, and 17 miscellaneous items like scissors, needles, or screwdrivers.14

At 8:07 a.m., Secret Service countersurveillance agents reported that “members of the crowd are wearing ballistic helmets, body armor and carrying radio equipment and military grade backpacks.” 15 By 9:45 a.m., the Secret Service noted people openly carrying pepper spray as they strolled the streets.16

President Trump’s mob was itching for a fight. National Park Service officers arrested a man who had entered the restricted area around the Washington Monument. Immediately, about 100 people started forming a circle around the officer, “threaten[ing] law enforcement,” as the officer later recounted.17 The officer retreated into the Washington Monument with the man in custody.18 The crowd responded angrily, punching the Monument’s glass windows and continuing to threaten officers.19 Law enforcement around the Washington Monument felt so unsafe that they “locked themselves in a security box by the mall.” 20 Rioters nevertheless “scaled the sides of the security box and climbed on top of the structure.” 21 It was a harbinger of things to come.

MPD monitored and responded to a stream of threats that morning. Three men in fatigues from Broward County, Florida brandished AR-15s in front of MPD officers on 14th Street and Independence Avenue.22 MPD advised over the radio that one individual was possibly armed with a “Glock” at Fourteenth Street and Constitution Avenue, and another was possibly armed with a “rifle” at Fifteenth Street and Constitution Avenue around 11:23 a.m.23 The National Park Service detained an individual with a rifle between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m.24

Far-right extremists brought guns into Washington or the surrounding area. Christopher Kuehne, a member of the Proud Boys, met up with friends on January 5th to discuss their plans for the following day. One person in attendance said he did not travel to Washington just to “march around” and asked, “do we have patriots here willing to take it by force?” 25 Kuehne told them he had guns, and he was ready to go.26 During the attack, Kuehne helped prop open Capitol blast doors as besieged law enforcement retreated inside.27 Guy Reffitt, a Three Percenter from Texas, attended the rally at the Ellipse, and then carried a loaded firearm onto Capitol grounds.28 Jerod Thomas Bargar lost his gun—that he’d carried from the Ellipse in a ‘We the People’ holster29—while scuffling with police on the west side of the Capitol around 2:30 p.m.30 Bargar wanted to be armed, he said, when he went into the “belly of the beast.” 31

Mark Andre Mazza drove from Indiana, bringing a Taurus revolver, a .45-caliber weapon that he loaded with both shotgun and hollow-point rounds.32 After assaulting a police officer, he lost the weapon,33 dropping it or losing it on the steps of the lower West Plaza leading to the Capitol’s West Front Terrace.34 The Select Committee reviewed Mazza’s social media accounts before they were taken down, finding that he shared multiple conspiracy theories, including QAnon material.35 Mazza later indicated that he intended to target House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, telling authorities that “you’d be here for another reason” if he had found the Speaker inside the Capitol.36

Lonnie Leroy Coffman from Falkville, Alabama, parked by the Capitol building before walking nearly 2 miles to the Ellipse to hear the President speak.37 In his car, he had stocked a handgun, a rifle, a shotgun, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, large-capacity ammunition-feeding devices, machetes, camouflage smoke devices, a bow and arrow, and 11 Mason jars filled with gasoline and styrofoam, as well as rags and a lighter (tools needed to make Molotov cocktails).38 Police found two more handguns on Coffman when he was arrested later that day.39

Many in attendance were aware of Washington’s prohibition on carrying a concealed weapon and made plans accordingly. The Oath Keepers left their guns stowed away in their cars or across State lines for easy access should they be needed.40 The group staged a “quick reaction force” across the river in Virginia, amassing an arsenal to come to DC “by land” or “by sea,” as Florida State-chapter lead—and defendant convicted of seditious conspiracy—Kelly Meggs said.41 Oath Keeper Jason Dolan testified at the seditious conspiracy trial that the “quick reaction force [was] ready to go get our firearms in order to stop the election from being certified within Congress.” 42 Dolan further testified that the Oath Keepers came to Washington, DC “to stop the certification of the election. . . . [b]y any means necessary. That’s why we brought our firearms.” 43

Garret Miller—a January 6th defendant who traveled from Richardson, Texas—posted on Facebook that “he was bringing guns with him but ‘might just keep 1 hidden one and store the rest in Virginia’” after learning about the DC law.44 He also threatened to assassinate Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and predicted a “civil war could start.” 45

Many members of the crowd decided against bringing firearms into the nation’s capital, and armed themselves in other ways. Alex Kirk Harkrider from Carthage, Texas, and his co-defendant, Ryan Nichols, left guns in a parked car just outside the district before attending the rally.46 Harkrider still brought a tomahawk axe.47 During the march to the Capitol, he yelled “[c]ut their fucking heads off!” 48 One rioter told the Select Committee he saw another carrying a “pitchfork.” 49

Members of the mob carried flags and turned the flagpoles into weapons. Michael Foy, from Wixom, Michigan, carried a hockey stick to the Ellipse—he draped a Trump flag over it.50 Just hours later, Foy used that hockey stick to repeatedly beat police officers at the inaugural tunnel.51 Former New York City police officer Thomas Webster carried a Marine flag, which he later used to attack an officer holding the rioters back at the lower West Plaza.52 Another individual, Danny Hamilton, carried a flag with a sharpened tip, which he said was “for a certain person,” to which Trevor Hallgren (who had traveled with Hamilton to Washington, DC) responded: “it has begun.” Later, Hallgren commented that “[t]here’s no escape Pelosi, Schumer, Nadler. We’re coming for you. . . . Even you AOC. We’re coming to take you out. To pull you out by your hairs.” On January 5th, Hallgren took a tour of the Capitol with Representative Barry Loudermilk, during which he took pictures of hallways and staircases.53

The mob President Trump summoned to Washington, DC, on January 6th, was prepared to fight.

8.2 March of the Proud Boys

While tens of thousands of President Trump’s supporters attended the rally at the Ellipse, the Proud Boys had other plans. On the morning of January 6th, they gathered at the Washington Monument. At 10:30 a.m., the Proud Boys started their march down the National Mall towards the U.S. Capitol. In total, there were approximately 200–300 Proud Boys, as well as their associates, in the group.54

Enrique Tarrio, the chairman of the Proud Boys, was not in attendance. As explained in Chapter 6, Tarrio had been arrested two days earlier and ordered to leave Washington. However, Tarrio continued to monitor events remotely from Baltimore, communicating with his men throughout the day. With Tarrio offsite, the Proud Boys were led by three other senior members of the group: Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl.

Ethan Nordean (a.k.a. “Rufio Panman”) was a member of the Proud Boys’ Elders chapter and president of his local chapter in Seattle, Washington.55 Nordean was regarded as the leader for January 6th after Tarrio was arrested.56 In the days leading up to January 6th, Nordean made ominous comments on social media. In conversations with his fellow Proud Boys, he argued that the Presidential election was tainted by fraud and violence was a necessary remedy. For example, on January 4th, Nordean posted a video on social media with the title: “Let them remember the day they decided to make war with us.” 57 In another social media post on January 5th, Nordean warned “we are coming for them.” 58 He added a telling line: “You’ve chosen your side, black and yellow teamed with red, white and blue against everyone else.”  59 The “black and yellow” is a reference to the Proud Boys. And when Nordean wrote the “red, white and blue,” he likely meant the Trump supporters who would be in attendance for January 6th.

Joseph Biggs (a.k.a. “Sergeant Biggs”) was a senior Proud Boys member and served as an event “organizer” for the group.60 Biggs previously worked with Alex Jones and InfoWars.61 In late December 2020, Biggs posted a message on Parler in which he explained that the Proud Boys “will not be attending DC in colors.” 62 That is, unlike at previous events, the Proud Boys would not wear their branded, black and yellow clothing, but instead seek to be inconspicuous. Biggs continued:

We will be blending in as one of you. You won’t see us. You’ll even think we are you . . .We are going to smell like you, move like you, and look like you. The only thing we’ll do that’s us is think like us! Jan 6th is gonna be epic.63

Tarrio posted a similar message, saying the Proud Boys would go “incognito” on January 6th. 64 Consistent with this decision, Biggs was dressed in a plaid shirt, glasses, and dark hat as he led the march from the Washington Monument.65 Other Proud Boys dressed in a similar fashion.

Zachary Rehl (a.k.a. “Captain Trump”) was president of the local Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Proud Boys chapter.66 Like his comrades, Rehl believed President Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 Presidential election.67 He raised more than $5,500 in funds for January 6th. Like Nordean, Biggs and others, Rehl was dressed “incognito” as he helped lead the group from the Washington Monument.68

Shortly after 11:00 a.m., the Proud Boys arrived at the west side of the Capitol, near a reflecting pool. From there, they marched to the east front of the Capitol. Surveillance footage shows the Proud Boys passing Garfield Circle on the southwest corner of the Capitol at 11:15 a.m.69 They walked north towards the Peace Circle next, and surveillance cameras captured them on video there at approximately 11:21 a.m.70 There was just one USCP officer standing guard at the Peace Circle fence at the time.71

As the Proud Boys paraded around the Capitol grounds, Nick Quested, a documentary filmmaker who spent time with the group, recalled them taunting USCP officers. One Proud Boy told the officers to “[r]emember your oath,” “[c]hoose a side,” and “[b]e on the right side of history.” 72 By 11:41 a.m., the Proud Boys made their way around to the east side of the Capitol, crossing along Constitution Avenue.73 While on the east front, they posed for pictures with members of their Arizona delegation, who were clearly identifiable by their orange caps.74 They then walked back across the north side of the Capitol towards the National Mall, where they stopped to eat at food trucks.75 The Proud Boys stayed by the food trucks until they returned to the Peace Circle at approximately 12:49 p.m.76

8.3 The Initial Attack

Within minutes of arriving at the Peace Circle, the Proud Boys and their associates launched the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The circle is the site of the Peace Monument, a statue erected from 1877 to 1878 to commemorate naval deaths at sea during the Civil War with “two classically robed” women—one woman representing “grief,” covering her face, and the other woman representing “history.” The woman standing in for “history” holds a tablet that reads, “They died that their country might live.” 77

The Peace Circle’s geographical location is crucially important for understanding how the January 6th, attack unfolded. It sits at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue, just in front of the U.S. Capitol. At the conclusion of his speech at the Ellipse, President Trump directed rally attendees to march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol. Their shortest natural path would lead them right to the Peace Circle and to the northwest side of the Capitol grounds, also known as the West Plaza. By the time rally-goers arrived, the Proud Boys and their allies had already removed the fencing that stood in the crowd’s way. As a result, thousands of people streamed into the restricted Capitol grounds with relative ease.

When the Proud Boys arrived back at the Peace Circle at 12:49 p.m., they still had about 200 to 300 members and many other protestors had joined them.78 Shortly after arriving, the Proud Boys incited the crowd with antagonistic chants such as “1776.” 79 Officer Caroline Edwards, who was standing guard, explained to the Select Committee that the Proud Boys asked her and the other USCP officers if they could walk past the fencing and talk to the officers. “No,” she replied. The Proud Boys and others immediately turned on Edwards and her fellow officers, referring to them as “Nancy Pelosi’s dogs” and shouting.80

At approximately 12:51 p.m., Quested captured a rioter named Ryan Samsel with his arm around Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs, who led the chants.81 Samsel subsequently claimed that Biggs encouraged him to push through the barricades and, when Samsel hesitated to follow through, Biggs “flashed a gun, questioned his manhood and repeated his demand” to move to the front and “challenge the police.” 82 Biggs has contested Samsel’s version of events.83 After speaking with Biggs, Samsel breached the outer fencing of the Peace Circle at 12:53 p.m.84 The first set of fencing at the Peace Circle was staged on 1st Street Northwest, with the second set of fencing not far behind. Once Samsel breached the outer fencing, USCP officers, including Officer Edwards, moved from their posts to meet Samsel and other rioters.85

In less than a minute, at 12:54 p.m., the rioters pushed USCP officers to the ground, removed the fencing, and quickly stormed east towards the U.S. Capitol building.86 Officer Edwards was thrown to the ground, causing her to hit her head on concrete steps.87

Two Proud Boys from New York, Dominic Pezzola and William Pepe, were among those leading the march to the next line of security barriers.88 Pepe, an employee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in upstate New York, took sick leave to travel to Washington for the January 6th events.89 Pepe dragged part of the fence away at the next security barrier, ensuring that USCP officers were left defenseless.90 The Proud Boys’ actions were not spontaneous. Jeffrey Finley, a Proud Boys leader from West Virginia, later admitted “there appeared to be a coordinated effort to pull the barricades apart.” 91 Proud Boy Jeremy Bertino admitted to similar facts when pleading guilty to seditious conspiracy, stating stated that he “believed . . . that the purpose of traveling to Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, was to stop the certification of the Electoral College Vote, and that the MOSD leaders were willing to do whatever it would take, including using force against police and others, to achieve that objective.” Based on discussions he and other Proud Boys leaders had in the leadup to January 6th, he “believed that storming the Capitol would achieve the group’s goal of stopping Congress from certifying the Electoral College Vote. Bertino understood that storming the Capitol or its grounds would be illegal and would require using force against police or other government officials.” 92

Parallel to the Peace Circle, at the Garfield Circle walkway located at the southeast corner of the Capitol grounds, rioters breached the fencing at 12:55 p.m. and began rushing the West Plaza where they would converge with others from the Peace Circle.93

By 12:58 p.m., the crowd filled the lower West Plaza of the Capitol just below the inauguration stage that had been built for the ceremony scheduled two weeks later. After the initial breaches, the USCP was able to deploy enough officers to stop the rioters from advancing past the base of the inauguration stage. More importantly, rioter momentum was further halted when the first group of MPD officers arrived on scene at 1:11 p.m.,94 almost precisely as President Trump finished his Ellipse speech. The MPD officers initially pushed back the rioters on the West Plaza, slowing them down before they would later breach the Capitol.95

A stalemate ensued on the West Plaza before rioters were able to make any further progress. Rally-goers arriving from the Ellipse provided crucial momentum.

8.4 President Trump’s Mob Descends on the U.S. Capitol

Toward the end of his speech at the Ellipse, President Trump made sure an already angry crowd of his supporters stayed enraged. “We fight like hell[,] and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” the President told the tens of thousands of people who had assembled at the Ellipse, or in the vicinity. About one minute later, President Trump directed those in attendance “to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue . . . to the Capitol.” The President told the people they were “going to try and give” Republicans, including his own Vice President, “the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.” 96

“There’s enough people here to storm the Capitol,” a member of the crowd said at 1:06 p.m., just as the President was concluding his remarks.97 Ronald Sandlin, who pleaded guilty to and has been sentenced for felonies committed on January 6th, including telling officers in the Capitol that “[y]ou’re going to die,” watched the President’s speech from a nearby restaurant and live-streamed a video in which he encouraged “other patriots” to “take the Capitol.” 98 Sandlin repeated the phrase “freedom is paid for with blood” several times during his video.99

“We’re getting ready to go march on Capitol Hill. We’re gonna go fuck some shit up,” Cody Mattice, another January 6th defendant who pleaded guilty and has been sentenced,100 said while walking to the Capitol. Mattice later added: “We’re getting up front, and we’re taking this shit.” 101 Ryan Nichols, who was charged with eight felonies, livestreamed a diatribe as he marched towards the Capitol at 1:40 p.m. Nichols echoed the President’s unconstitutional claim that Vice President Pence had the power to decide the election himself. “I’m hearing that Pence just caved . . . I’m telling you if Pence caved, we’re gonna drag motherfuckers through the streets,” Nichols said.102 “Cut their heads off!” Nichols yelled with his codefendant Harkrider, before encouraging others to join “Republican protestors [who] are trying to enter the House right now.” 103

On the way to the Capitol, Oath Keeper Jessica Watkins chatted with others in a Zello group named “Stop the Steal J6.” Watkins said that “100%” of the Ellipse crowd was “marching on the Capitol,” because “it has spread like wildfire that Pence has betrayed us.” 104 As she approached the Capitol with a contingent of Oath Keepers, Watkins said: “I’m probably gonna go silent when I get there ’cause I’m a be a little busy.105 Donald Hazard, a Three Percenter from Texas who claimed to be allied with Proud Boys on January 6th, told a Washington Post reporter that he wanted his face recorded on video as he marched to the Capitol. “I want the enemy to know exactly who is coming after them,” Hazard explained.106

Leaders of the “Stop the Steal” movement continued to incite the crowd during the march as well. Alex Jones of InfoWars arrived at the Ellipse shortly before 9:00 a.m. on the morning of January 6th.107 After some initial difficulty gaining access to the event area, Jones was seated in the VIP section.108 While Jones stayed to listen to a portion of President Trump’s speech, planning for the crowd’s march to the Capitol was already underway and Jones intended to leave the Ellipse early to lead the march. The origins of the plan to have Jones lead the march are unclear. Jones has publicly stated that “the White House told me three days before, we are going to have you lead the March.” 109 Stop the Steal’s Ali Alexander also believed “the White House” wanted him to lead a march to the Capitol.110 It is likely that both got that idea from Caroline Wren, a Republican fundraiser who helped organize the Ellipse event.111 Jones texted Wren at 12:27 p.m., asking when he should leave the Ellipse and begin the march.112

While Wren originally expected Jones, Roger Stone, and retired Lt. Gen. Flynn to march to the Capitol, Stone did not attend the Ellipse rally and so he was not present to accompany Jones on the march as planned.113 Additionally, while President Trump was delivering his speech, Wren asked Flynn if he was going to march with Jones. Flynn responded, “Hell, no. It’s freezing.” 114

While Stone and Flynn did not march, Jones and Alexander led others to the Capitol, though it is not clear how many people followed them.115 Jones and Alexander gathered with Jones’s camera and security crew just outside the event perimeter, near Freedom Plaza, to discuss their plans.116 The discussion, recorded by Alex Jones’s film crew, sheds some light on what Jones and Alexander knew about the President’s plans and what they intended for the march. The group, which included InfoWars host Owen Shroyer, huddled outside the Ellipse security perimeter to discuss how best to proceed. They tried to predict the Presidential motorcade’s route to the Capitol. The video shows Alex Jones telling his crew, “I think the Wren lady, where’s she at? She knows what they said they were going to do. Everything she’s said has been accurate, so we need to call her real quick.” 117 They then decided to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, as the President had directed in his speech.

Shroyer recommended the group wait for President Trump to finish speaking, and they agreed to at least delay their departure from Freedom Plaza to allow Jones to gather a crowd. 118 Jones began speaking from his bullhorn, imploring people to gather and walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.119 While using the bullhorn, Jones told the crowd that they were experiencing “the second American revolution,”  120 and stated, “[l]et’s go take our country back. Trump is only minutes away. Let’s start marching to the Capitol, peacefully.” 121

Proud Boys were among the crowd Jones gathered during his march. Matthew Walter, president of a Tennessee chapter of the organization,122 was near the National Mall with two other Proud Boys from Tennessee and decided to join Jones.123 Other, more prominent members of the Proud Boys appear to have been in contact with Jones and Shroyer about the events of January 6th and on that day. Records for Enrique Tarrio’s phone show that while the attack on the Capitol was ongoing, he texted with Jones three times and Shroyer five times.124 Ethan Nordean’s phone records reflect that he exchanged 23 text messages with Shroyer between January 4th and 5th, and that he had one call with him on each of those days.125 Records of Joseph Biggs’s communications show that he texted with Shroyer eight times on January 4th and called him at approximately 11:15 a.m. on January 6th, while Biggs and his fellow Proud Boys were marching at and around the Capitol.126

Once they had marched the length of Pennsylvania Avenue and reached the west side of the Capitol, Jones and Alexander used a bullhorn to continue directing those around them to the east side, making further references to President Trump’s alleged imminent arrival. A video recorded by a rallygoer at 1:51 p.m. shows Jones and Alexander standing together as Jones encourages the crowd to proceed to the east side of the Capitol. He tells those listening that “we’ve got a permit on the other side, it’s great that this happened, but Trump’s not going to come when we’ve taken this over. We are not Antifa, we are not BLM.” 127

Jones has repeatedly claimed that he tried to calm the crowd, but his actions also coincided with two police line breaches and one breach of the Capitol building itself. At 1:57 p.m., minutes after Jones encouraged rally goers to move east, newly arrived protestors breached the bike rack fencing used to keep the crowd away from the east side steps.128 After the breach, police retreated to the base of the large set of steps behind them and the crowd moved forward to meet the newly established police line.129

Jones followed shortly behind the crowd that led the initial east fence breach, and his arrival coincided with the next breach up the east stairs. Publicly available video shows Jones already departed from the west side, rounding the north side of the Capitol on the way to the east side at 2:00 p.m.130 As he was walking, Jones told his group, “those fucking cops need to fucking back off man.” 131 He was then asked about Vice President Pence, to which Jones responded: “he floundered and was neutral, he passed the ball.” 132 At the conclusion of the video, one of Jones’s camera crew can be heard saying, “let’s take a break here. Let me talk to this cop to see if I can get Alex up there to deescalate the situation.” Other video released by Jones shows one of his camera crew interacting with USCP officers and asking how Jones can help deescalate the situation.133 The Select Committee’s review of the evidence showed that Jones simultaneously called on the crowd to “fight” and start a “revolution,” while occasionally peppering his rhetoric with the word “peacefully.”

Minutes after Jones’s arrival on the scene, at approximately 2:06 p.m., rioters breached the new police line and stormed up the stairs towards the Columbus Doors (also known as the Rotunda Doors).134 The crowd’s cheers and celebration as they move up the steps can be heard while Jones’s camera crew negotiates with USCP officers nearby. 135 As explained below, the rioters broke through another key breach point with Jones and Alexander on the scene just minutes later.

8.5 The Mob Surges

Far-right extremists continued to lead the charge as protestors streamed onto the U.S. Capitol’s restricted grounds. On the north side of the West Plaza, there was a scaffold with stairs used by construction workers to build the inauguration stage. Law enforcement officers were stationed at the base of the stairs, preventing rioters from climbing to the upper West Plaza, where doors to the Capitol building itself were located. At 1:49 p.m., MPD declared a riot at the Capitol.136

Shortly before 1:50 p.m., rioters gathered in front of this scaffold on the northwest corner of the Capitol. The rioters included Proud Boys and other extremists. One rioter, Guy Reffitt, belonged to a Three Percenter group from Texas.137 By approximately 1:50 p.m., he stood at the front of the pack near the scaffold, carrying a pistol and flexicuffs.138 He wore body armor under a blue jacket and a helmet with a mounted body camera.139

Reffitt advanced on the police line, absorbing rubber bullets and pushing through chemical spray.140 As he recounted shortly after the attack, Reffitt got “everything started moving forward.” 141 He “started the fire” and the presence of law enforcement was not going to prevent Reffitt’s advance.142 According to Reffitt:

[T]here was no reason for me to give up because I had come so far to do what I wanted, what we wanted and needed to do. And I had a mindset. I didn’t mean to actually be the first guy up there. I didn’t even mean to do that. I just, the adrenaline and knowing that I can’t let my country fall.143

Reffitt had indeed planned for violence on January 6th, noting on December 28, 2020, that he would “be in full battle rattle.” 144 While driving to Washington, DC on January 5th, Reffitt expressed his desire to “drag[] those people out of the Capitol by their ankles” and “install[] a new government.” 145 On the morning of January 6th, Reffitt clarified the target, telling “other members of his militia group and those gathered around him” at the Ellipse that “I’m taking the Capitol with everybody fucking else” and that “[w]e’re all going to drag them mother fuckers out kicking and screaming . . . . I just want to see Pelosi’s head hit every fucking stair on the way out . . . And Mitch McConnell too. Fuck ’em all.” 146 Reffitt was convicted and ultimately sentenced to 7 years in prison for his conduct.147

A member of the Proud Boys, Daniel Scott, helped lead the charge up the scaffolding stairs.148 Scott, also known as Milkshake, had marched with the Proud Boys from the Washington Monument to the Capitol. During the march, Scott was recorded in a video yelling, “Let’s take the fucking Capitol!” 149 Someone else responded, “Let’s not fucking yell that, alright?” And then Nordean added: “It was Milkshake, man, you know . . . idiot.” Scott had apparently blurted out the Proud Boys’ plan. At the scaffolding, Scott then helped others “take” the U.S. Capitol. While wearing a blue cap with white lettering that read, “Gods, Guns & Trump,” he pushed police officers backwards, clearing a path for the rioters. Another Proud Boy, Chris Worrell, was also nearby.150 As rioters massed under the scaffold, Worrell sprayed officers with OC (or pepper) spray. 151 Other Proud Boys were present at the scaffold, including Micajah Jackson152 and Matthew Greene.153

The attack at and in the vicinity of the scaffolding cleared a path for a wave of rioters who forced their way up the stairs and to the U.S. Capitol building itself.154 As the rioters rushed up the stairs, another January 6th defendant, Ryan Kelley, climbed up the scaffolding around 1:51 p.m.155 In the ensuing minutes he waved people on, encouraging them to follow.156 Kelley—who ran in the Republican primary to be the governor of Michigan in 2022—denied to the Select Committee that he had climbed the scaffolding to wave people on.157 The FBI arrested Kelley a few months after his deposition.158

By 2:00 p.m., rioters at the top of the scaffolding stairs were only feet away from Capitol building doors and windows.

8.6 The United States Capitol is Breached

Incited by President Trump, over the course of the next hour, extremists, conspiracy theorists and others breached the U.S. Capitol building at several locations. They probed for weaknesses in the building’s defenses, battling law enforcement personnel who stood in their way. Once again, the Proud Boys and other extremists played conspicuous roles.

The Senate Wing is Breached at 2:13 p.m.

At 2:13 p.m., Dominic Pezzola, a Proud Boy from New York, smashed a window on the Senate wing.159 This was the first breach of the Capitol building. Pezzola used a riot shield he stole from a law enforcement officer to break through the window. After climbing through, rioters were able to easily open a nearby Senate wing door from the inside—giving them unfettered passage into the building at 2:14 p.m. Two minutes later, at approximately 2:16 p.m., rioters pushed opened a second door, the Senate fire door, from the inside.160 Just as the building was being breached, Vice President Pence and Speaker Pelosi were ushered off the Senate and House floors, respectively.161

The first person to enter the Capitol building was a Kentucky native named Michael Sparks. Sparks had expressed his desire to kill people after watching protests in the summer of 2020.162 Following one of President Trump’s calls to Washington, DC on December 30, 2020, Sparks answered that he would “be there.” 163

As Pezzola entered the building, he was joined by other noteworthy extremists and conspiracy theorists. Robert Gieswein, an individual from Colorado affiliated with Three Percenters who espoused conspiracy beliefs, climbed through the Senate wing window.164 Doug Jensen, a QAnon adherent, was part of this first cadre of people to enter the Capitol as well.165 Jensen wore a brazen “Q” shirt. Jensen later told authorities that he “intentionally positioned himself to be among the first people inside the United States Capitol because . . . he wanted to have his t-shirt seen on video so that ‘Q’ could ‘get the credit.’” 166 Another prominent QAnon believer, Jacob Chansley (a.k.a. the “QAnon Shaman”), also entered through the Senate wing door at approximately 2:14 p.m.167

White supremacists and Confederate sympathizers were among the first rioters to enter the U.S. Capitol. Kevin Seefried and his son, Hunter, entered the building at approximately 2:13 p.m. through the Senate wing window smashed by Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola.168 Kevin Seefried carried a Confederate Battle Flag with him and unfurled it inside the building. According to some historians, while the Confederate Flag has appeared in the building before, it was the first time that an insurrectionist ever carried the banner inside the U.S. Capitol.169 According to court filings, Hunter Seefried helped punch out the Senate wing window and then clear the broken glass before he, his father and others entered the Capitol.170 Kevin Seefried was found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, which is a felony offense, as well as four misdemeanors.171 The Department of Justice has alleged that at 2:16 p.m., just 3 minutes after the Senate wing was first breached, five individuals associated with the Nick Fuentes’s white nationalist “America First” movement entered the U.S. Capitol.172 The five, all of whom are in their 20s, have been identified as: Joseph Brody, Thomas Carey, Gabriel Chase, Jon Lizak, and Paul Lovley.173 Four of the five “initially met at an America First event and attended subsequent events together.” 174 Nick Fuentes and other America First leaders espouse “a belief that they are defending against the demographic and cultural changes in America.” 175 Online researchers say that Brody is the masked man seen in a photo wearing a MAGA hat and holding a rifle in front of a Nazi flag.176 (The photo was not taken on January 6th.) As discussed in Chapter 6, members of the America First movement, commonly known as “Groypers,” were well-represented at “Stop the Steal” events in late 2020 and these rallies helped pave the road to January 6th. Indeed, at least three members of the group—Lovley, Lizak and Chase—attended the “Stop the Steal, March for Trump” rally in Washington, DC on November 14, 2020.177

On January 6th, Brody and his America First associates made their way to various points inside and outside of the Capitol after the initial breach, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s conference room and office, as well as the U.S. Senate Chamber. 178 After exiting the Capitol, the group went to the north side of the building. One of the five, Brody, and another rioter allegedly used a “metal barricade” to assault a law enforcement officer who was defending the North Door.179 (The attack on the North Door is discussed below.) Brody and Chase also allegedly helped others destroy media equipment.180 Still another America First associate, Riley Williams, directed rioters up a staircase to Speaker Pelosi’s office and was accused of aiding and abetting the theft of a laptop found there.181Other white supremacists were among the first rioters to enter the U.S. Capitol. Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, an Army Reservist from New Jersey who was identified by a confidential source to law enforcement as an “an avowed white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer,” entered through the Senate wing breach around 2:14 p.m.182 Hale-Cusanelli “[u]sed tactical hand signals” to direct other members of the mob, and he commanded them to “‘advance’ on the Capitol.” 183 Afterwards, he bragged to a friend that January 6th was “exhilarating,” that he hoped “for a ‘civil war,’ and that the ‘tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants.’” 184 Robert Packer was also among the first rioters to enter the Capitol, and he made his way into the Crypt by 2:25 p.m.185 Packer was wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt, a “symbol of Nazi hate ideology,” at the time.186

After breaking in, some of the first rioters headed north toward the Senate chambers.187 Officer Eugene Goodman, a USCP officer, intercepted them before they headed up the stairs leading to the chambers. Immediately after entering, a rioter asked Officer Goodman, “Where are the [M]embers at?” and “where are they counting the votes?” 188 Jensen, Gieswein, Sparks, and others stalked Officer Goodman through the halls of the Senate.189 Jensen demanded that Officer Goodman and other USCP officers arrest Vice President Pence.190 Sparks chanted, “This is our America!” 191 Other rioters who entered through the Senate wing door clashed with police offices at the Senate carriage door located on the northeast side of the Capitol.192 When the rioters followed Officer Goodman up the stairs to the Senate Chamber, they were stopped by a line of USCP officers outside the Ohio Clock Tower.193

Joe Biggs of the Proud Boys entered the Capitol shortly after the first breach. At 2:14 p.m., Biggs walked through the senate wing door and moved north. Part of his route was captured in videos posted on Parler, a right-wing social media site.194 Someone recorded the Proud Boys leader shortly after he entered the Capitol and asked him, “Hey Biggs what do you gotta say?” 195 Smiling, Biggs replied: “this is awesome!” 196 Other Proud Boys were seen with Biggs, or near him, as he entered the Capitol. One of them is Paul Rae, a Proud Boys member from Florida, who appears to have communicated directly with Biggs after they entered through the door.197 Another Proud Boy from Florida, Arthur Jackman, was seen with his hand on Biggs’s right shoulder. Jackman “became involved in the Proud Boys to support Donald Trump,” was in Washington on January 6th “to support President Trump and to stop the steal” and “believe[d] the election was stolen.”195 Still another, Joshua Pruitt, who was clad in a Punisher shirt, entered the Capitol through the Senate wing door around this time.198 At approximately 2:17 p.m., 3 minutes after entering the U.S. Capitol for the first time, Biggs exited through another door.199

At 2:43 p.m., law enforcement was able to regain control of the Senate wing door, forcing all the rioters out. But their success lasted for only 5 minutes. At 2:48 p.m., rioters again breached the Senate wing door, pushing law enforcement out of the way.200 The second breach was one of the more violent breaches of the day, with the mob forcefully pushing law enforcement backwards until the pathway was clear for them to enter.

The Columbus Doors (East Rotunda Doors) are breached at 2:24 p.m. and 2:38 p.m.

While the Proud Boys and other extremists were overwhelming law enforcement at the West Plaza scaffolding, another group led the attack on security barriers on the East Plaza. At 2:06 p.m., a crowd broke through security barriers and charged a set of doors just outside the Rotunda.201 The mob’s surge occurred just minutes after Alex Jones arrived on the scene.202 The crowd’s cheers and celebration as they move up the steps can be heard while Jones’s camera crew negotiates with USCP officers nearby.203

Once rioters had filled the Rotunda stairs, Jones and his team, along with the Proud Boy Walter, ascended the stairs. They moved into the thick of the crowd at the top of the stairs, where Jones began calling for peace but also revolution, leading the crowd in chants of “1776” and other bellicose rhetoric.204 Publicly available video shows that Jones reached the top of the stairs at 2:18 p.m.205 Walter told the Select Committee that he thought Jones was successful in getting some people down, “but I also think that may have created enough space for people to be able to move, whereas before you couldn’t move.” 206 Apparently, Jones’s security team also realized he was not successfully controlling the crowd, as one of his security guards reportedly told him, “Alex, they’re going to blame this all on you, we got to get out of here as fast as possible.” 207 By approximately 2:21 p.m., Jones began descending the stairs.208 Despite claiming to make attempts to calm the crowd, Jones further incited the mob as he departed, loudly proclaiming “we will never submit to the new world order” and then leading the crowd in the chant “fight for Trump.” 209

At 2:24 p.m., rioters gained entrance to the Capitol through the doors leading into the Rotunda,210 an entrance that was only a few feet directly behind Jones as he was speaking. As the Rotunda was breached by rioters, Jones and Alexander left the area and decided to leave the Capitol complex area altogether.211

Law enforcement officials were able to thwart the initial breach of the doors leading into the Rotunda. By 2:28 p.m., they temporarily regained control and stopped rioters from entering.212 But their success was short-lived. Within ten minutes, the doors were breached once again.213 And two members of the Proud Boys—Ronald Loehrke and James Haffner—helped lead the attack.214

Loehrke was allegedly recruited by Nordean, the Proud Boys leader, for January 6th. In late December 2020, Nordean asked Loehrke via text message if he was coming to “DC.” 215 After Loehrke indicated he was, Nordean said he wanted Loehrke “on the front line” with him.216 Loehrke replied, “Sounds good man.”  217 Loehrke and Haffner marched with the Proud Boys from the Washington Monument to the Capitol grounds and were present during the breach at the Peace Circle.218 The pair made their way to the east side of the Capitol, where they began removing the security barriers and resisting USCP officers. 219 Other members of the crowd joined. Eventually, the rioters breached these barriers too, allowing them to reach the doors of the Rotunda.

When the rioters reached the Columbus Doors, they were again stopped by USCP officers. But as the officers explained to the Select Committee, the rioters pushed them against the doors and sprayed them with OC spray (commonly known as pepper spray), making it impossible to defend the Capitol. 220 James Haffner was one of the rioters who allegedly sprayed the officers.221

Shortly after Haffner and others assaulted the USCP officers, they were able to breach the Columbus Doors at approximately 2:38 p.m. A Proud Boys contingent—including Haffner, Loehrke, and Joe Biggs—then entered the Capitol.222 It was the second time that Biggs entered the U.S. Capitol that day.

A military-style “stack” of Oath Keepers entered through the Columbus Doors as well. The Oath Keeper members attended the Ellipse rally, where they were provided personal security details for VIPs in attendance.223 Afterwards, they marched to the Capitol, as directed by President Trump.

Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, monitored the attack on the Capitol from just outside, including during the assault on the Columbus Doors. At 2:28 p.m., Rhodes texted members of the F.O.S., or Friends of Stone, (FOS) Signal chat—which included Roger Stone, the Proud Boys’ Enrique Tarrio, Ali Alexander, Alex Jones, and others224—that he was at the “Back door of the US Capitol.” 225 Rhodes followed up at 2:30 p.m. by texting members of another chat that there was “Pounding on the doors” of the Capitol.226

At 2:32 p.m., Rhodes held a three-way call with two other Oath Keepers, Kelly Meggs and Michael Green.227 Three minutes later, Meggs’s group (“Stack 1”) started pushing through the rioters amassed on the East Plaza steps in a military-stack formation, with each person placing a hand on the shoulder of the person in front.228 This stack entered the Capitol around 2:40 p.m.229

One minute later, Rhodes was caught on camera on the Upper West Terrace responding to a rioter who said the Members of Congress must be “shitting their pants inside.” Rhodes replied: “Amen They need to shit their fucking pants. Sic semper tyrannis.” 230

Once inside, Stack 1 moved through the Rotunda. At 2:44 p.m., Stack 1 pushed into the Senate hallway, which was filled with officers blocking the way. “Push, push, push. Get in there. They can’t hold us,” Watkins implored the others. However, the officers repelled their attack, pushing them back into the Rotunda.231

Other Oath Keepers made their way to the Capitol as Stack 1 tried to advance. Joshua James and another group of Oath Keepers (“Stack 2”) pushed through the Columbus Doors at approximately 3:15 p.m. 232 “This is my fucking Capitol. This is not yours. This is my building,” James shouted at officers inside the Rotunda who were trying to push the rioters out of the Capitol.233

Additional Breach Points

In addition to the breaches discussed above, rioters opened other entry points into the U.S. Capitol. The Upper West Terrace door, which leads directly into the Rotunda, was breached at 2:33 p.m. when rioters opened it from the inside.234

Inside the Capitol, rioters broke through the police lines, such as in the Crypt, a space located directly underneath the Rotunda. The Crypt is anchored by a marble “compass stone,” marking the center of the building, and is lined with 13 statues representing the original American colonies.235 The rioters quickly moved towards the House Chambers and, by 2:40 p.m., started to crowd the main doors outside the Chambers, moving to the east side near the Speaker’s lobby. As they moved to the east side, rioters opened the east House doors from the inside at 2:41 p.m., allowing rioters from the northeast side of the Capitol to enter.236

The north doors were the last Capitol doors breached. At 3:10 p.m., rioters entered through the north doors where they were quickly met by USCP.237 Within a minute, the hallway just inside the doors was filled with rioters. At 3:12 p.m., a combination of USCP and MPD officers forcefully pushed the rioters out of the doors.238 However, rioters continued to attack just outside the north doors throughout the afternoon and evening.

The north doors have an outer entranceway that is separated by a vestibule from a set of inner doors that lead directly into the Capitol. Rioters threw bricks at the doors and forcefully tried to stop police officers from clearing the area.239 Law enforcement officers briefly opened the inner doors to spray a chemical irritant that was intended to disperse the mob.240 But the rioters continued to fight. For instance, as the crowd held the outer doors open, John Thomas Gordon of West Virginia repeatedly threw a heavy projectile at the inner doors, while swearing at the officers.241 Another rioter gave Gordon, who came to Washington to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally, a pair of goggles so he would withstand the chemical spray. Gordon kicked the inner doors as he and others desperately tried to enter the Capitol. 242 Law enforcement held the doors, withstanding the mob’s best efforts to break in.

As law enforcement officers started to clear the building, rioters continued to fight police officers at the tunnel on the West Plaza. Rioters violently struck officers, including MPD Officer Daniel Hodges, and sprayed them with OC spray. Although rioters did not break through the police line at the tunnel, they were able to successfully break a window just north of it. There is no surveillance coverage for this area, so Select Committee staff was unable to determine the precise time of the breach. According to open-source videos, however, the breach appears to occur at approximately 4:15 p.m.243

8.7 President Trump Pours Fuel on the Fire

After Dominic Pezzola and others breached the Capitol at 2:13 p.m., a mob quickly entered and headed towards the Senate and House Chambers, where Members were meeting.244 As the crowd moved through the Capitol, they chanted “Fight for Trump” and “Stop the Steal!” They also chanted “Nancy, Nancy” as they searched for Speaker Pelosi.245 At 2:18 p.m., the House went into recess as hundreds of rioters confronted USCP officers inside the Crypt, which is a short distance from the first breach point.246

USCP officers formed a line across the Crypt in an attempt to stop the mob’s advance.247 By 2:21 p.m., the rioters had tried to break through police lines, but they were temporarily unsuccessful.248

As USCP officers held the line inside the Crypt, President Trump poured fuel on the fire, tweeting at 2:24 p.m.:

“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving states a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” 249

One minute later, the mob violently pushed through the USCP officers in the Crypt and continued moving south towards the House Chamber.250 Joshua Pruitt, the Proud Boy dressed in a Punisher shirt, was at the front of the line as rioters broke through in the Crypt.251 Officer David Millard told the Select Committee that rioters in the Crypt claimed they were in the Capitol because their “boss” told them to be there—meaning President Trump.252 Officer Millard also recalled members of the mob telling him they were there to stop the steal.253

After breaking through the police line in the Crypt, the mob pursued USCP officers as they retreated to the U.S. Capitol Visitor’s Center (CVC). Pruitt was among the rioters who advanced into the CVC, where he came close to Senator Chuck Schumer.254 When the USCP officers attempted to lower metal barriers to halt the crowd’s momentum, another small group of Proud Boys immediately interceded to prevent the barricades from coming down.255 The Proud Boy contingent included three men from the Kansas City, Kansas area: William Chrestman,256 Chris Kuehne,257 and Louis Colon.258 Felicia Konold and Cory Konold, two Proud Boy associates from Arizona, joined the Kansas City group while marching from the Washington Monument to the Capitol earlier in the day and were on the scene.259 Two other Proud Boys, Nicholas Ochs and Nicholas DeCarlo, filmed the incident.260

Surveillance footage shows Chrestman using a wooden club, or modified axe handle, to prevent the barrier from being lowered to the floor.261 Colon later admitted to authorities that he purchased and modified an axe handle “to be used as both a walking stick and an improvised weapon” on January 6th.262 Colon also told authorities that he attended a meeting with Chrestman and others on the night of January 5th, during which someone asked, “do we have patriots here willing to take it by force?” Colon understood that the individual meant that they should use “force against the government.” This same individual commented that they should “go in there and take over.” 263

At 2:36 p.m., the mob pushed through a line of USCP officers guarding the House Chamber.264 Rioters also entered the Senate Chamber.265 Within minutes, Jacob Chansley (a.k.a. the QAnon Shaman) entered the Senate Chamber, making his way to the Senate dais, where Vice President Pence had been presiding over the joint session. An officer asked Chansley to vacate the dais, but instead he shouted, “Mike Pence is a fucking traitor.” Chansley also left a note that read: “It’s Only a Matter of Time. Justice is Coming!” 266 Surrounded by others, Chansley held a conspiracy-laden prayer session, saying: “Thank you for allowing the United States of America to be reborn. Thank you for allowing us to get rid of the communists, the globalists, and the traitors within our government.” 267 Other extremists, including at least one associate of the white nationalist “America First” movement, also sat in the Vice President’s seat.268

While law enforcement fought to contain the mob inside the Capitol, the fighting raged outside as well. Key agitators continued to fire up the crowd. Nick Fuentes, the leader of the “America First” movement, amplified President Trump’s rhetoric aimed at Vice President Pence, including the President’s 2:24 p.m. tweet.269 Speaking through a bullhorn while standing on the Peace Monument, Fuentes shouted:

We just heard that Mike Pence is not going to reject any fraudulent elector votes! That’s right, you heard it here first: Mike Pence has betrayed the United States of America. Mike Pence has betrayed the President and he has betrayed the people of the United States of America—and we will never ever forget!270

As rioters flowed through the halls and offices inside the Capitol, others broke through the defensive lines of USCP and MPD officers on the lower West Plaza at 2:28 p.m., allowing them to take over the inauguration stage.271 According to MPD Officer Michael Fanone, MPD officers were then forced to conduct the “first fighting withdrawal” in the history of the force, with law enforcement seeking to “reestablish defensive lines” to prevent the “crowd that had swelled to approximately 20,000 from storming the U.S. Capitol.” 272

After surging through the West Plaza, rioters quickly headed towards the West Plaza tunnel. The violence that escalated at 2:28 p.m. on the lower West Plaza continued as rioters reached the tunnel. By 2:41 p.m., law enforcement retreated inside the tunnel, allowing rioters to slowly fill in.273 Just ten minutes later, the mob jammed the tunnel, desperately trying to break through the police lines.274 The fighting in and immediately outside of the tunnel raged for over two hours.275

Throughout the afternoon, members of the mob struck officers with weapons, shot them with OC (or pepper) spray, and dragged officers from the tunnel into the crowd. Lucas Denney, a Three Percenter from Texas who carried a baton on January 6th, pushed a riot shield into and on top of police officers at the tunnel. The crowd chanted “heave-ho!” as Denney did so.276 Jeffrey Scott Brown sprayed a chemical or pepper spray at officers and pushed the front of the line in the tunnel.277 Kyle Young, a January 6th defendant with a long prior criminal history, participated in multiple assaults and violence at the tunnel, including using a pole to jab at police officers.

Young’s 16-year-old son was present during the fighting.278 Robert Morss, a former Army Ranger who wore a military-style vest, participated in a heave-ho effort in the tunnel where he and rioters had created a shield wall.279 Peter Schwartz and another rioter passed a large cannister of spray back and forth before Schwartz’s companion sprayed officers and then the two joined in the heave-ho.280

One of the most brutal attacks of the day occurred outside the tunnel when rioters dragged MPD Officer Michael Fanone into the crowd, and then tased, beat, and robbed him while a Blue Lives Matter flag fluttered above him. Albuquerque Head, a rioter from Tennessee, grabbed Officer Fanone around the neck and pulled him into the mob.281 “I got one!” Head shouted.282 Lucas Denney, the Three Percenter, “swung his arm and fist” at Officer Fanone, grabbed him, and pulled him down the stairs.283 Daniel Rodriguez then tased him in the neck. Kyle Young lunged towards Officer Fanone, restraining the officer’s wrist.284 While Young held him, still another rioter, Thomas Sibick, reached towards him and forcibly removed his police badge and radio.285 Officer Fanone feared they were after his gun. Members of the crowd yelled: “Kill him!,” “Get his gun!” and “Kill him with his own gun!” 286

In an interview with FBI agents, Daniel Rodriguez admitted his role in the attack on Officer Fanone.287 During that same interview, Rodriguez discussed the influences that led him down the path to January 6th. Rodriguez was a fan of Alex Jones’s InfoWars and told FBI agents that he became active at rallies after watching the conspiracy show.288 Rodriguez was motivated by Jones’s decision to support then candidate Trump in 2015. 289 He also began to affiliate himself with the Three Percenter movement, which he learned about by watching InfoWars.290 And when President Trump called for a “wild” protest in Washington on January 6th, Rodriguez thought it was necessary to respond. “Trump called us. Trump called us to DC,” Rodriguez told interviewing agents.291 “If he’s the commander in chief and the leader of our country, and he’s calling for help –I thought he was calling for help,” Rodriguez explained. “I thought he was—I thought we were doing the right thing.” 292

Rodriguez and another January 6th defendant, Edward Badalian, began preparing for violence after President Trump’s December 19th tweet. They gathered weapons and tactical gear293 and discussed their plans in a Signal chat named, “Patriots 45 MAGA Gang.”

“Congress can hang. I’ll do it,” Rodriguez posted to the chat. Please let us get these people dear God.” 294

Badalian also posted a flyer titled “MAGA_CAVALRY,” which showed rally points for “patriot caravans” to connect with the “Stop The Steal” movement in DC.295 The same flyer was popular among Three Percenters and other self-described “patriot” groups. It also garnered the attention of law enforcement. The FBI’s Norfolk, Virginia division noted in a January 5th intelligence assessment that the flyer was accompanied by another image, titled “Create Perimeter,” which depicted the U.S. Capitol and other buildings being surrounded by the same caravans.296

8.8 The Evacuation

When rioters surrounded the perimeter of the Capitol, and reached the Senate and House Chambers, Members were forced to evacuate for safety. USCP officers responded to both Chambers and served as escorts. By the time the Capitol was breached, the Senate and House had split from the joint session, with Senators returning to their Chamber to debate the objection to Arizona’s electoral vote. The House remained in its Chamber to debate the objection.297

Starting in the Senate, Vice President Pence was escorted off the floor at 2:12 p.m. and was taken to his Senate office. Between 2:12 p.m. and 2:25 p.m., Secret Service agents worked to identify potential threats and a route that could be used to transport Vice President Pence.298 One of the issues for Vice President Pence’s evacuation was that the rioters were outside the Ohio Clock Tower, which was just feet away from the staircase that Vice President Pence could descend to evacuate.299 Eventually, after the mob started filling the entire Capitol, the Secret Service made the decision to move Vice President Pence, and he was escorted from the Senate at 2:25 p.m.300 By 2:27 p.m., the Vice President can be seen moving toward a secure location connected to the Capitol. The Vice President arrived at the secure location at 2:29 p.m.301 Following the Vice President’s evacuation, Senators were evacuated at 2:30 p.m.302

On the House side, Speaker Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and House Majority Whip James Clyburn were removed from the House floor at the same time as Vice President Pence. By 2:18 p.m., USCP surveillance showed Speaker Pelosi in the basement hallway headed towards the garage.303 The surveillance footage also showed Leader Hoyer and Whip Clyburn in the same basement as Speaker Pelosi. At 2:23 p.m., Speaker Pelosi and Whip Clyburn were moved to an undisclosed location.304

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was evacuated just after Speaker Pelosi left the Capitol. At 2:25 p.m., as rioters were moving through the Crypt and breaking through the east Rotunda door, Leader McCarthy and his staff hurriedly evacuated his office.305 At approximately 2:38 p.m., the Members of Congress on the House floor began their evacuation.306 Members of Congress can be seen evacuating through the Speaker’s Lobby when a USCP officer fatally shot Ashli Babbitt at 2:44 p.m. 307 Members and staffers were just feet away when Babbitt attempted to climb through a shattered glass door. USCP officers had barricaded the door with furniture to prevent the rioters from gaining direct access to elected officials.

The congressional Members in the House Gallery were evacuated after the Members on the House floor. Congressional Members in the Gallery had to wait to be evacuated because rioters were still roaming the hallways right outside the Chamber. At 2:49 p.m., as Members were trying to evacuate the House Gallery, the USCP emergency response team cleared the hallways with long rifles so that the Members could be escorted to safety.308 USCP surveillance footage shows several rioters lying on the ground, with long rifles pointed at them, as Members evacuate in the background.309 By 3:00 p.m., the area had been cleared and Members were evacuated from the House gallery to a secure location. 310

8.9 Clearing the U.S. Capitol Building and Restricted Grounds

Shortly after law enforcement officers evacuated the House and Senate Members, they started to clear rioters out of the Capitol and off the grounds. Starting before 3:00 p.m., law enforcement spent approximately three hours pushing rioters out of the Capitol building and off the East and West Plazas. In general, law enforcement cleared rioters out of the Capitol through three doors: (1) the House side door located on the northeast side of the Capitol; (2) the Columbus Doors (East Rotunda Doors); and (3) the Senate wing door, which was next to the first breach point. As discussed above, the Proud Boys and other extremists led the charge at the latter two locations during the early stages of the attack.

Outside the Capitol, law enforcement pushed the mob from the upper West Plaza towards the East Plaza, crossing the north doors. Eventually, these rioters were forced to exit the Capitol grounds on the east side. The last point where rioters were removed was the lower West Plaza—the scene of some of the most intense hand-to-hand fighting that day. After law enforcement cleared the tunnel, where violence had raged for hours, police officers corralled rioters to the west and away from the Capitol building.311

After rioters first breached the Senate wing door on the first floor, they immediately moved south towards the House Chamber. This route took them to the Crypt—with the mob filling this room by 2:24 p.m. This was also one of the first rooms that law enforcement cleared as they started to secure the building. By 2:49 p.m., law enforcement officers cleared the Crypt by pushing towards the Senate wing door and up the stairs to the Rotunda.312

Around the same time that police officers cleared the Crypt, they also removed rioters from hallways immediately adjacent to the House and Senate Chambers. On the House side, rioters were pushed out shortly before 3:00 p.m. The House hallway immediately in front of the House Chamber’s door was cleared at 2:56 p.m.313 The mob outside of the Speaker’s lobby was pushed out of the House side door at 2:57 p.m.314

USCP officers were able to quickly clear out the Senate Chamber, which was initially breached at 2:42 p.m.315 Rioters were cleared from the hallways outside the Senate by 3:09 p.m.316 Surveillance shows officers checking the Senate Gallery and hallways for rioters; there are no people on camera by this time.317

The Rotunda served as a key point where the mob settled during the Capitol attack. For example, at 2:45 p.m., hundreds of people can be seen standing in the Rotunda.318 It appears law enforcement officers funneled rioters from other parts of the Capitol into the Rotunda. Once they had President Trump’s supporters herded there, law enforcement started to push them towards the east doors shortly after 3:00 p.m. At 3:25 p.m., law enforcement successfully pushed rioters out of the Rotunda and closed the doors so that the room could remain secure.319 By 3:43 p.m., just 18 minutes after the Rotunda doors were closed, law enforcement successfully pushed the rioters out of the east doors of the Capitol.320

The last rioters in the Capitol building were cleared out of the Senate wing door—the same location where rioters first breached the building at 2:13 p.m. Like the other locations inside the Capitol, law enforcement began forcing rioters out of the Senate wing door after 3:00 p.m. By 3:40 p.m., law enforcement had successfully pushed many of the rioters out of the door and onto the upper West Plaza.321 However, officers were unable to close the doors because some rioters remained in the doorway and attempted to re-enter the building. At 4:23 p.m., a combination of USCP and MPD officers forced these people out of the doorway and successfully secured the door.322

After clearing the inside of the Capitol, law enforcement officers proceeded to sweep the perimeter adjacent to the building, starting with the upper West Plaza. After pushing the last rioter out of the Senate wing door, officers started to clear the upper West Plaza, which is located just outside this same doorway. Law enforcement officers in riot gear formed a line and marshalled the crowd north from the upper West Plaza. By 4:31 p.m., 8 minutes after closing the Senate wing door, rioters were cleared from the upper West Plaza.323

Many of these same officers started to secure the north side of the Capitol as they pushed rioters from the upper West Plaza towards the East Plaza. By approximately 4:32 p.m., law enforcement officers walked out of the North Doors, forming additional lines to push rioters eastward. As discussed earlier, the North Doors had been the location of violent fighting throughout much of the afternoon. By 4:46 p.m., law enforcement had successfully pushed the rioters from the north side of the Capitol to the East Plaza.324

Law enforcement cleared the East Plaza next. By 4:59 p.m., officers had swept all the remaining rioters from the east stairs of the Capitol.325 At this point, the mob that had overrun the upper West Plaza, the north side of the Capitol, and the East Plaza had been moved off the grounds adjacent to the Capitol.

The last areas of the Capitol grounds to get cleared were the tunnel and the lower West Plaza. Thousands of rioters had packed into the West Plaza just after the initial invasion, led by the Proud Boys and their associates. The tunnel was the location of the day’s most violent fighting and the conflict extended until late in the day.

After 5:00 p.m., it appears that law enforcement directed their attention to clearing the lower West Plaza, including the tunnel. At 5:04 p.m., police officers in the tunnel shot smoke bombs to get the remaining rioters to back away from the doors.326 By 5:05 p.m., the rioters had all retreated and the police officers inside the tunnel moved out and started clearing out the area.327

At 5:13 p.m., on the opposite side of the lower West Plaza, officers pushed the mob down the scaffold stairs and to the lower West Plaza.328 These are the same stairs that rioters, led by the Proud Boys and other extremists, had previously climbed before reaching the Senate wing door.

Once the rioters from the tunnel and the scaffold were all situated on the lower West Plaza, officers formed another line and started walking the mob back towards the grass—which was away from the actual Capitol building. The line appears to have been fully formed at 5:19 p.m., and the officers started their sweep at 5:30 p.m.329 By 5:37 p.m., police officers pushed rioters back to the grassy area away from the Capitol. It was at this time that no rioters appeared to be in or around the Capitol building.330 At 6:56 p.m., a little more than an hour after the Capitol grounds were cleared, Vice President Pence returned to the Capitol from the loading dock.331 Vice President Pence walked up the stairs in the basement of the Capitol to his office in the Senate at 7:00 p.m.332

Shortly after 8:00 p.m., the joint session of Congress resumed, with Vice President Pence saying: “Let’s get back to work.” 333 At 3:32 a.m., the Congress completed the counting of the votes and certified the election of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. as the 46th President of the United States.