Trump still says his supporters weren't behind the Jan. 6 attack — but I was there
It's been a year since that pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol. I was there when it happened, and I was also there months later when they tried to shift the blame.
Editor's note: This story contains language that may be offensive.
"I was standing amid thousands of Trump supporters on the lawn rising up to the Washington Monument," says NPR's Tom Bowman. "Then Trump came on stage to raucous applause."
Bowman was reporting from the "Save America" rally in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6. Up until the point when former President Trump began speaking, the rally held a festive air, almost like a football game, he said. "Some Trump supporters were singing YMCA but using the letters M-A-G-A."
But things were different at the Capitol building, where I was standing with Hannah Allam, NPR's extremism reporter. The far-right group the Proud Boys had just shown up and were organizing
