The mayor went a step further and said that if it were proved that some members of Congress collaborated with members of the group that attacked the Capitol, they – like Trump – would be complicit in the crimes committed during the insurrection.
“And the crime, in some cases, was homicide,” Pelosi said. “And this president is an accomplice to this crime because he instigated that insurrection that caused those deaths and this destruction.”
Although several officials, including District Attorney General of Columbia, Karl Racine, said they are investigating the role Trump played in the riot, none have so far indicated that the president would be an accessory to the deaths that occurred while protesters were trying to stop them. blocking the certification of victory by President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the speaker’s hint that Trump’s words led to death on Capitol Hill.
Pelosi’s comments represent the strongest language Democrats have ever used about Trump’s role in the riots.
While the majority of Republicans refused to come across Trump, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who said little about defending the president since the unrest, went to the Senate floor on Tuesday to place the blame on Trump.
“The crowd was fed with lies,” said McConnell. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. And they tried to use fear and violence to prevent a specific process from the first federal power that they did not like. But we continue. “
House Democrats, who joined 10 Republicans, voted to impeach Trump last week on charges of inciting insurrection. Pelosi did not say when the impeachment article would be sent to the Senate to start a trial, but indicated in his interview that it would be “soon”.