President Donald Trump sided with his supporters after they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, saying of the violence: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long.” Earlier, rather than denouncing the violence, he empathized with his supporters, telling them in a video, “I know how you feel” and that they were “very special.” In the same breath, he called for them to “go home peacefully.” He did not condemn their actions or call for their arrest, as he has numerous times for his political opponents. He complained again of a “fraudulent election,” the cause his supporters in the federal building were ostensibly fighting for. One woman had been shot, six people were hospitalized, including a law enforcement officer, and two explosive devices were found during the riot. Twitter clamped down on the video almost immediately, barring users from sharing it except with a comment or a direct link.
