'That Was Wrong': Ex-AG Bill Barr Thinks Trump Was Responsible for 6 Jan Riot

17:01 GMT, 4 March 2022
© AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
Daria Bedenko
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A riot took place on the Capitol in Washington, DC on 6 January, as the crowd opposed the results of the 2020 presidential election. At the time, the results of the election were being certified by Congress and protesters stormed the government building with a view to preventing it. The riot left five dead, including a Capitol policeman.
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Former US Attorney-General, Bill Barr, has said he believes ex-President Donald Trump was responsible for the 6 January Capitol riot.
"I do think he was responsible in the broad sense of that word," Barr told NBC's Lester Holt in an interview. "It appears that part of the plan was to send this group up to the Hill."
Another part of the plan, according to Barr, was to "intimidate Congress" - something the former AG believes "was wrong".
Barr also said he took a dig at the performance of Trump's "crackerjack" legal team during the meeting when he offered to step down.
"I said the reason you are where you are is because you wheeled out a clown show of lawyers," Barr recalled. "Yeah, clown car, or something like that - just a bunch of clowns."
During the interview the former attorney-general also recalled how Trump slammed his hand on the desk and told him to go home after Barr challenged his claims of election fraud that Trump believes took place during the 2020 White House race.

"I told him that all this stuff was bulls*** about election fraud," Barr said. "And, you know, it was wrong to be shovelling it out the way his team was. And he started asking me about different theories. And I had the answers. I was able to tell him, 'This is wrong because of this'."

Trump was "obviously very angry" with his remarks, Barr continued, saying that he went on to offer his resignation - something that made the president furious.

'"And then, boom! He slapped the desk, and he said, 'Accepted! Accepted!' And then, boom! He slapped it again," Barr said, slapping his own hand for emphasis. "'Accepted! Go home. Don't go back to your office. Go home. You're done'," the former attorney-general reminisced.

In the middle of December 2020, Barr officially announced his resignation, leaving the Trump administration just around a month before the Cabinet was set to change. Despite the tense conversation the two had before Barr's departure, Trump described their relationship as "a very good one" when announcing the news on Twitter, and said that Barr "has done an outstanding job".
Weeks later, on 6 January, Trump spoke at his massive Save America rally in Washington, DC, calling on his supporters to protest against the results of the 2020 election.

"I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard," he said, among other things, like urging his followers to "fight like hell".

Many believed that Trump was the one who instigated the Capitol riot that occurred shortly after his rally, with crowds of protesters storming the government building in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the election results. The riot claimed five lives, including that of a Capitol police officer, and left the building ransacked as lawmakers were evacuated.
Trump, who was impeached for a second time on the charge of "inciting insurrection", has denied any wrongdoing and asserted that he never wanted any violence on US streets.
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