“If he sent the votes back to the legislature, they wouldn’t have had a problem since Jan. 6, so you can blame him a lot,” Trump told reporters on a flight to Iowa to attend a campaign event. He was referring to his attempt to get Pence to convince the Senate to refuse to validate the American vote on the basis of alleged electoral fraud, and thus to reverse Trump’s eventual loss to Joe Biden.
The riots at the US Capitol came after Trump told his supporters to “fight with all your might”. Over a thousand rioters were arrested, hundreds were charged, many convicted, some for sedition. The others remain in search.
Trump was impeached for inciting rebellion, but was acquitted when enough Republicans in the Senate remained loyal to him. Over the past year, the House Select Committee has referred the Trump case to the Justice Department four times. The investigation is ongoing.
Pence was a stalwart vice president, but now he’s preparing to run for president himself. He blamed Trump for the riots in a speech in Washington on Saturday. “President Trump was wrong, he said. I had no right to void the election and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone on Capitol Hill that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
On January 6, rioters chanted “Hang Mike Pence” and a makeshift gallows was set up outside. Pence was secured by the Secret Service.
