Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger took to Twitter on Thursday to outline how former President Donald Trump could have incited the deadly riot at the Capitol on January 6 even if the rioters had planned it in advance.
Congressman Jim Jordan, a Republican representing Ohio's 4th congressional district, had tweeted suggesting Trump couldn't be held responsible for the riot if the events had been premeditated by those who breached the Capitol. Kinzinger soon responded to the claim.
"How do you incite a riot that was already going to happen?" Jordan asked.
"Pipe bombs were placed near the Capitol before President Trump's speech," he went on.
"The FBI knew about potential violence before the speech [...] Capitol Police requested help from the National Guard days before the speech."
Jordan has been a strong defender of the former president and voted against the single article of impeachment in the House of Representatives.
Kinzinger, a prominent critic of Trump's, replied to Jordan on Twitter, saying the former president could have incited the riot "[b]y doing it for months and years prior, including tweeting to come Jan 6 'it's gonna be wild.'"
"The speech lit the match on the assembled tender [sic]. But remember 'this is what happens when you steal and [sic] election....' (trump tweet AFTER.)"
By doing it for months and years prior, including tweeting to come Jan 6 “it’s gonna be wild.” The speech lit the match on the assembled tender. But remember “this is what happens when you steal and election....” (trump tweet AFTER.) https://t.co/wociN2X8G2
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) February 11, 2021
Kinzinger clarified in a later tweet that he meant "assembled tinder." The congressman was specifically referring to a tweet Trump sent and then deleted on January 6.
"These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!" Trump tweeted.
Trump sent a number of tweets on January 6 claiming that the election had been stolen and that former Vice President Mike Pence should intervene in his favor. Pence was presiding over the final certification of Electoral College votes in his largely ceremonial role as president of the Senate.
The former president also addressed the "Save America" rally on January 6, decrying the election results in a speech, parts of which Democrats presented in video evidence.
Kinzinger was among the 10 House Republicans who voted in favor of impeachment and he's praised the submissions from the House Impeachment Managers, who are effectively the prosecuting team.
"The prosecution is compelling," Kinzinger said on Wednesday. "Donald Trump incited and directed the insurrection. He knew what he was doing. I cannot imagine how any Senator could vote against removal."
Jordan, by contrast, has harshly criticized the impeachment, telling Fox Business on Thursday: "The one line from the president's speech that wasn't in the Democrats' video is the line that's most important, and that's where the president said, 'Peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.'"
"They left that out, which I think kind of shows where the Democrats want to go with this and what they've been up to," he said.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
