Former President Donald Trump recently accused law enforcement of participating in a “set up” targeting his supporters on Jan. 6 at the Capitol — whom he referred to as “warriors” via Mediaite.
It has been noted during a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, the former president showered praise on the protesters (as he often does at the outset of his speaking events) — and then accused law enforcement of participating in a “set up.”
“Those J6 warriors, they were warriors, but they were really, more than anything else, the victims of what happened,” Trump said. “All they were doing is protesting a rigged election. That’s what they were doing. And then the police say: Go in! Go in! Go in!”
Trump then dropped vague reference to several far-flung conspiracy theories surrounding the attack on the Capitol.
“How about scaffold Joe, the guy on the scaffold?” Trump said. “Or how about the big FBI guy or wherever he comes from: ‘Go on in, everybody! Go on in! What a set up that was! What a horrible, horrible thing!”
Multiple outlets have completely debunked footage purporting to show Capitol Police officers welcoming the rioters into the building without resistance.
The former president has repeatedly lauded the Jan. 6 rioters having previously referred to those detained as “hostages” and promised to free them if he wins the 2024 election.
An in-depth investigation from the outlet Just Security found 27 of the 29 people currently in DC jail for Jan. 6-related crimes have either been charged with, pleaded guilty to, or convicted of attacking law enforcement officers.
Trump’s remarks from Sunday run counter to his recent rhetoric about police. Following the wake of slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller in late March, Trump boasted about his support of law enforcement in an interview with Fox News.
“I support the police,” Trump said. “I would say at the highest level of any president by far. Maybe double or triple.”
In the same interview, Trump denounced the “lack of respect for law and order.”
