House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said former President Donald Trump might be an “accessory to murder” in conjunction with the riots at the U.S. Capitol this month.
In an MSNBC interview that aired Tuesday night, the House speaker accused Trump of inciting the deadly riot at the Capitol on January 6, which left at least five people dead including a U.S. Capitol Police officer.
“President’s words are important, they weigh a ton,” Pelosi said of Trump. “And if you’re Donald Trump talking to these people, they believe it, and they used his words to come here.”
The California lawmaker added that, if some members of Congress conspired with the people who stormed the Capitol, they too would be considered accessories to crimes committed during the riot.
“When we talk about, ‘Did any of our colleagues collaborate?’ Well, that remains to be seen,” Pelosi said.
“We have to get the evidence of that. And if they did, they would be accessory to the crime. And the crime, in some cases, was murder. And this president is an accessory to that crime because he instigated that insurrection that caused those deaths and this destruction,” she added.
Several officials, including Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine, are looking into whether they should charge Trump with a crime in connection with the riots.
Pelosi is the first politician to claim Trump could be an accessory to murder.
The speaker’s comments came hours before Trump’s final moments in office and before President Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday.
House Democrats, along with ten House Republicans, voted to impeach Trump last week on a charge of inciting an insurrection. The vote marked the second time Trump was impeached during his term in office.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.