'He personally asked us to come to DC': Insurrectionists explain why they were there on Jan. 6

Thursday night, the Jan. 6 committee laid the foundations of a case against Donald Trump for inciting the bloody attack on the U.S. Capitol. One key piece of that came toward the end of the two-hour hearing, in a brief video showing a series of insurrectionists explaining why they were at the Capitol that day: Because Donald Trump asked them to be.

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“We were invited by the president of the United States,” a member of the mob screams, in footage from the attack, as the video opens.

Next, Robert Schornack, who a chyron tells us was sentenced to 36 months probation, says in a committee interview, “What really made me want to come was the fact that, you know, I had supported Trump all that time. I did believe, you know, that the election was being stolen, and Trump asked us to come.”

“He personally asked us to come to D.C. that day,” Eric Barber, charged with theft and unlawful demonstration in the Capitol, says in another interview. “And I thought, for everything he’s done for us, if this is the only thing he’s going to ask from me, I’ll do it.”

Trump appears next, speaking at the rally that day. “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol.”

A voice asks Barber, “Do you recall President Trump mentioning going to the Capitol during his speech?”

“Oh, yes. So that’s one of my disappointments. He said he was going to go—go with us, that he was going to be there.”

Several more insurrectionists follow, including Proud Boy George Meza, saying, “But I remember Donald Trump telling people to be there.”

“You know, Trump has only asked me for two things. He asked me for my vote, and he asked me to come on Jan. 6,” Schornack says at the close of the video.

Donald Trump called them to Washington, D.C., and then he told them to march on the Capitol, saying he would be with them. That’s the crux of it.