During Day 2 of Donald Trump's Senate trial, the House impeachment managers tried to make their case against the ex-US president's conduct before, during, and after election night on 3 November. Here's a closer look into how the trial unfolded on Wednesday.
New Footage of Capitol Riots Rolled Out
Democratic impeachment managers presented a video of never-before-seen footage from the 6 January Capitol attack revealing when lawmakers were evacuated as rioters breached the building in a bid to stop Congress from certifying the election results.
The evacuees included then-Vice President Mike Pence, then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and GOP Senator Mitt Romney.
One of the videos showed the moment the mob stormed the Capitol, breaking windows and carrying Confederate and Trump flags. In other footage, rioters were seen rushing through the Capitol's hallways and ominously calling for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by name.
In one clip, a rioter could be heard shouting, "We're here to count the f***ing votes", while another protester was heard saying, "Where are they counting the f***ing votes?"
Audio of Protesters Demanding to 'Hang Mike Pence' Played
During Wednesday's trial proceedings, Democrat Joaquin Castro played audio of the rioters chanting "hang [then-Vice President] Mike Pence", with the lawmaker also showing an image of a noose allegedly put up to "execute" Pence.
Castro also cited Trump as saying that he would be "disappointed" in the vice president if he failed to uphold the "good of our Constitution" and oppose the certification of the presidential election results.
Pence Praised for Standing 'Strong'
Castro was echoed by colleague Ted Lieu who elaborated about how Trump turned on Pence ahead of the 6 January election certification in Congress.
"Vice President Pence stood strong and certified the election. Vice President Pence showed us what it means to be an American, what it means to show courage", Lieu pointed out.
He quoted Trump as saying of Pence during his "Save America" speech that he "won't like him as much" if he certifies the election results.
Additionally, the Democrat cited The New York Times as claiming that Trump once told Pence, "You can either go down in history as a patriot or you can go down in history as a p***y".
Trump Mentioned Peace Only Once, Dems Claim
Day 2 also saw House Democrat Madeline Dean insisting that during Trump's "Save America" speech on 6 January, he urged his supporters to go down to the Capitol to "peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".
According to Dean, it was the only time that the ex-POTUS used the word "peaceful" in the speech.
"In a speech spanning almost 11,000 words — yes, we did check — that was the one time, the only time, President Trump used the word peaceful or any suggestion of non-violence", she claimed, adding that Trump allegedly used the word "fight" or "fighting" 20 times during the address.
She spoke a few hours after former chief of staff Mark Meadows wrote on his Twitter page that "there's one line from President Trump's January 6th speech that Democrats keep conveniently leaving out". Meadows was referring to Trump's "peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard" remark.
Trump Supporters Didn't Have a Permit, Dem Says
Democrat Stacey Plaskett on Wednesday argued that Trump supporters did not have a permit to march to the Capitol on 6 January until then-POTUS stepped in.
The Virgin Islands delegate also accused Trump of "orchestrating" and "inviting" protesters to the Capitol, mentioning his "stand back and stand by" comments concerning the right-wing group Proud Boys during a 29 September debate between Trump and then-Democratic hopeful Joe Biden.
A day before, then-POTUS told reporters that he didn't "know who the Proud Boys are", adding, "[…] I can only say they [the Proud Boys] have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work".
Inciter-in-Chief?
On Wednesday, lead Democratic manager Jamie Raskin asserted that Trump was the "inciter-in-chief" of the 6 January riots rather than an "innocent bystander".
Raskin claimed that over many months, Trump had "praised, encouraged, and cultivated violence".
The Democratic congressman also pointed to Trump's "remember this day forever" tweet, which Raskin claimed were words of celebration, not sadness.
The remarks came after the first day of the ex-president's second impeachment trial resulted in a 56-44 vote that found the proceedings were constitutional and should therefore continue.
Trump has repeatedly rejected his responsibility in the Capitol siege violence, with his legal defence team claiming that the impeachment is unconstitutional.
