Trump told rally ‘they're not here to hurt me’

Donald Trump knew that members of the crowd at his rally near the White House on January 6th, 2021 were armed but demanded security apparatus be removed to allow them closer, and then instructed the crowd to march on the US Capitol, a key witness told the January 6 committee.

According to the witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, the president tried to assault an aide who refused to go to the Capitol.

Hutchinson, a former aide to Trump and his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, testified in person on Tuesday.

She described how Trump ordered supporters to fill the area to capacity after his remarks were shown on TV, backstage at Ellipse shortly before his speech.

The president was warned by a Secret Service official that protesters outside security magnetometers were carrying weapons.

Trump said he didn't fucking care that they have weapons, but they're not here to hurt me. Take the fucking mags away. They can march to the Capitol from here, let the people in and take the mags away. Liz Cheney, the vice-chair of the January 6 committee, led the questioning of Hutchinson.

The Wyoming Republican presented law enforcement recordings from January 6th, 2021 in which officers described protesters carrying AR-15 style rifles and handguns.

Cheney also showed evidence about protesters wearing body armour and carrying bear spray and flagpoles to use as spears.

Cheney said: Let's reflect on that for a moment. President Trump was aware that a number of the people in the crowd had weapons and were wearing body armour. Here is what President Trump instructed the crowd to do. The committee played a video of Trump's speech at the Ellipse.

Trump said we re going to walk down and I ll be there with you, we re going to walk down to the Capitol. The riot that ensued bore out a prediction that Hutchinson said Meadows made to her on the evening of 2 January: Things might get real, real bad on January 6. A bipartisan Senate committee linked seven deaths to the riot failed to stop the certification of Joe Biden's election victory. The January 6 committee showed that the vice-president, Mike Pence, came within 40 ft of the mob, members of which chanted he should be hanged.

In video testimony played in earlier hearings, Hutchinson described how Trump responded to such chants: saying maybe Pence deserved it, for refusing to reject electoral college results.

Hutchinson told a story about the president attempting a violent act later in the hearing.

Hutchinson said Tony Ornato, a secret service official and deputy chief of staff, told her of a physical altercation in the presidential vehicle, the Beast, when Trump was told he could not go to the Capitol.

Hutchinson tried to grab the steering wheel, then lunged at the chief of his security detail.