Oath and Honor summary

As his legal efforts failed, Trump focused intensely on January 6 as his last opportunity to overturn the election results. He took to Twitter, urging supporters to attend the "Stop the Steal" rally planned in Washington D.C. His campaign sent fundraising emails promising free transportation and lodging to draw more attendees.

On December 9th, at Trump's direct request, Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana emailed every Republican member of the House. He implored them to sign onto an amicus brief supporting Texas’s lawsuit. The lawsuit challenged the election results in four swing states won by Biden. Trump wanted to carefully review the list to see who showed support for this controversial legal action.

With his legal options extinguished, Trump set his sights on his last gambit to cling to power – January 6.

On a campaign call on January 4th, Trump advisor Jenna Ellis falsely claimed that seven key states had submitted competing slates of electoral college electors. This means that several individuals in these key states claimed to be the elected electors for their respective states.  In truth, no state had dual slates – the supposed "alternate" Trump electors were entirely fake. Ellis floated a theory that Vice President Pence could refuse to count votes from these states during electoral vote certification, based on the Republican objections that were expected in Congress.

In the weeks leading up to January 6, tension mounted as Trump falsely claimed election fraud and demanded supporters fight, in his words, to save their country. He summoned them to Washington for a major rally on the day Congress certified results, teasing them that it would be wild.

The Save America Rally kicked off early morning on the 6th at Ellipse Park. A sea of thousands gathered as speakers like Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and Mo Brooks riled up the crowd with more stolen election lies and calls for action. Donald Trump Jr. declared the crowd to be Donald Trump's Republican Party, while Giuliani demanded the election be decided in a trial by combat.

In the wake of the unprecedented attack, the Capitol building lay in devastation. Windows were smashed, furniture overturned, offices ransacked and vandalized. Threatening graffiti stained the walls, and even feces were left in the halls by the mob. Police recovered stashes of explosives and Molotov cocktails rioters had smuggled in.

Over 140 officers suffered injuries, and some were hospitalized with severe wounds. Officers gave disturbing accounts of brutal beatings by the violent mob. One Capitol police officer, Brian Sicknick, died the next day from his injuries after defending the West Front entrance of the Capitol building. 

In the months following the attack, multiple investigations were launched to uncover the truth behind the Capitol insurrection. A Senate report detailed security failures that left law enforcement unprepared when overwhelmed by the mob.

The FBI pursued charges against hundreds of people involved in the rioting. Prosecutors secured convictions for seditious conspiracy against members of far-right groups like the Oath Keepers.