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- Donald Trump falsely claimed the Capitol riot posed "zero threat" and defended his loyalists who stormed the building on January 6.
- Trump falsely claimed some rioters hugged and kissed Capitol police officers as they invaded the Capitol.
- One officer died after being attacked with chemical spray; more than 100 others were hurt during the riot.
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Former President Donald Trump downplayed the Capitol riot, falsely claimed it posed "zero threat," and defended his loyalists who stormed the building on January 6 during an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Thursday night.
Trump claimed that some of the rioters had "great relationships" with the Capitol police, although one officer died and more than 100 were injured after being attacked by violent rioters. Trump suggested some of the rioters didn't commit any offense by invading the US Capitol building as Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 election.
"It was zero threat, right from the start, it was zero threat," Trump said. "They went in, they shouldn't have done it. Some of them went in and they're hugging and kissing the police and the guards, they had great relationships. A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in and they walked out."
There is no evidence that the rioters hugged or kissed officers. Trump may have been referring to footage of a Capitol Police officer taking a selfie with one of the insurrectionists and some officers appearing to allow the crowd into the building.
Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died after rioters attacked him with chemical spray. Two rioters were arrested earlier this month and charged with assaulting Sicknick and two other police officers. Many of Trump's loyalists chanted death threats against former Vice President Mike Pence as they entered the Capitol.
Still, Trump claimed his supporters are being "persecuted" by federal law enforcement because of their political beliefs.
"They're persecuting a lot of those people, and some of them should be - some things should happen to them, but when I look at antifa in Washington ... and nothing happens to them whatsoever," Trump said. "They don't talk about antifa, they don't talk about BLM, they don't talk about any of the other groups on the left."
Ingraham jumped in to steer Trump away from arguing that the rioters shouldn't be prosecuted.
"But you would say that people who commit crimes, regardless of what their political affiliations are, should be prosecuted?" she asked.
Trump responded, "Absolutely. What you said is exactly right." But he also added: "They go after people on the right in spades and they don't go after people at all on the left."
The former president also took the opportunity to repeat his election lies, which incited the violence he attempted to defend.
-Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) March 26, 2021