US Capitol Hill riots: Probe panel summons Trump to testify
A probe panel investigating the January 6 Capitol Hill violence in the United States has summoned former President Donald Trump to testify on November 14. A nine-member committee of the House of Representatives is probing the riots "purportedly" triggered by Trump's supporters after he lost the 2020 presidential election. The summons reportedly gives Trump a chance to clarify his stance on his alleged involvement.
Why does this story matter?
On January 5-6, 2021, outgoing President Trump's supporters gathered at the Capitol Hill Building after he claimed the presidential election was "stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats." At a "Save America" rally on January 6, Trump repeated the claim of a "stolen election" and told supporters, "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore," following which the violence erupted.
Trump asked to appear in person or via video conference
After Trump's successor Joe Biden took over as the president of the US, the probe panel was constituted in July last year to investigate the violence that caused immense damage. Now, Trump has been asked by this panel to testify on oath in person or via video conferencing. It is a deposition testimony that will be conducted behind closed doors and video graphed.
'Disrupted smooth transition of power'
The former US president has also been accused by the probe panel of disrupting the smooth transition of power following his defeat in the 2020 US presidential election. In a written summons to Trump, as per Reuters, the panel has said that they have collected enough evidence of "his involvement in the violence, testified by his several supporters to overturn the presidential election."
Trump's close aide sentenced to imprisonment
Separately, Trump's close aide and former advisor, Steve Bannon, was sentenced to four months imprisonment by a US district court on Friday. This came after he failed to cooperate with the panel investigating the Capitol Hill violence. Later, however, the judge deferred his sentence and imposed a fine of $6,500 instead. Apart from him, several hundred people are under investigation for the riots.
About the US Capitol Hill riots
Following Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential election, around 2,000 rioters entered the US Capitol Building in Washington DC in January 2021 to disrupt the counting of electoral college votes to validate the victory of his opponent Joe Biden as the US president. Five people died, while several hundred were injured. Monetary damage caused by the violence exceeded $2.7 million as of July 2022.
'They were domestic terrorists'
Following the violence, Biden had termed the rioters "domestic terrorists." Launching a scathing attack on the outgoing president, he said, "The past four years we had a president who has made his contempt for our democracy, our Constitution, the rule of law, clear in everything he has done." He termed the incident "one of the darkest days in the history" of the United States.
