Trump knew Jan. 6 rally crowd had weapons, former White House aide testifies
Kate Scanlon
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Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified Tuesday before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that then-President Donald Trump was made aware that some would-be attendees of the rally at the White House Ellipse had weapons and declined to go through Secret Service screening.
Trump was “furious” because he wanted the people admitted regardless in order for the crowd to appear larger.
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Trump was “furious” that Secret Service magnetometers, a standard presence at presidential events, were at the rally and that some who came chose to watch his remarks from a nearby location on the National Mall rather than surrender weapons they had brought, Hutchinson testified.
Hutchinson said Trump wanted the magnetometers taken away so the crowd would appear larger on television, regardless of the weapons or body armor the crowd would bring in with them.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the panel’s vice chairwoman, said, “The president apparently wanted all attendees inside the official rally space and repeatedly said, quote, ‘They’re not here to hurt me.’”
“That’s a fair assessment,” Hutchinson said.
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Hutchinson testified that when she informed Meadows about the presence of people with weapons at the Jan. 6 rally, he had a “lack of reaction” and did not look up from his phone.
“All right, anything else?” she quoted Meadows as saying.
