As the situation grew worse, Scavino said he printed out potential tweets Trump could post to urge the rioters not to get violent. At 2:38 p.m., after many protesters had already breached the Capitol, Trump finally let Scavino post a message on Trump’s Twitter (now called X) account telling the mob to “stay peaceful.”
Minutes later, Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt was shot dead when she tried to break through a barricaded entrance. The insurrection did not stop until Trump—after nearly two hours of begging from his aides, advisers, family members, and allies in Congress—posted a video telling his supporters, “Go home. We love you. You’re very special.”
Since he was indicted in August for his role in the January 6 attack, Trump and his lawyers have continually insisted that he told the crowd to be peaceful. And Trump did, exactly twice. Once during his speech at the Ellipse, when he said, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” And a second time in his weak tweet.