Jan. 6 panel to examine Trump’s role in galvanizing extremists

The tweet was a “siren call” for domestic extremists to organize, Murphy told NBC.

The committee will focus on how that tweet was a “pivotal moment that spurred a chain of events” that included pre-planning by the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group that led the Capitol invasion, aides said. The Oath Keepers, who are violent militia extremists, and QAnon followers, who believe conspiracy theories that Trump is their savior fighting against the “deep state,” will have their roles in the insurrection examined. 

The panel anticipates showing these groups had ties to Trump associates, including Roger Stone and Flynn, a retired Army general who also served as one of Trump’s national security aides during the 2016 campaign, according to committee aides.

During a hearing on June 10, Marcus Childress, an investigative counsel for the panel, outlined how Trump’s Dec. 19 tweet was viewed by the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys as a “call to arms.” Childress said many of the witnesses interviewed by the committee were “inspired” by that call from Trump. The panel showed a social media post by Kelly Meggs, president of the Oath Keepers chapter in Florida, who in response to Trump’s tweet said on Dec. 22 that Trump “called us all to Capitol and wants us to make it wild!!!”

The evening before Jan. 6, Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, and Enrique Tarrio, who at the time led the Proud Boys, met in a Washington parking garage. Those associated with the Proud Boys led the initial breach of the Capitol near Peace Circle on Jan. 6, according to the panel.