Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday walked back plans to hold an event on the one-year anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot, while blaming the committee investigating the attack, two Republicans and the media.
In an official statement, Trump called off the event, which was planned to be a press conference to discuss the events of the day. The topics he planned to touch upon will now be moved to a Jan. 15 rally. He laid the blame for the cancellation on the House Select Committee, congressional Republicans, and "the Fake News Media."
"In light of the total bias and dishonesty of the January 6th Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media, I am canceling the January 6th Press Conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, and instead will discuss many of those important topics at my rally on Saturday, January 15th, in Arizona," Trump's statement read. "It will be a big crowd!"
Trump also took the opportunity to lay more blame for the military and National Guard not being deployed during the riot on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the Capitol sergeant-at-arms.
"What has become more and more obvious to ALL is that the LameStream Media will not report the facts [that] Nancy Pelosi and the Capitol Sergeant-at-Arms denied requests for the D.C. National Guard or Military to be present at the Capitol," the former president continued. "Their emails and correspondence with Department of Defense exist, but the media won't ask for this evidence, or report the truth!"
Trump has been accused of provoking his supporters to violence ahead of the certification of the 2020 presidential election last year, ultimately leading to the riot. At a rally earlier in the day, he urged those in attendance to "fight like hell" after months of accusing Joe Biden and the Democratic Party of stealing the election through unsubstantiated claims of mass voter fraud. Trump continues to make these accusations.
On Dec. 20, Pelosi announced in a letter to Washington Democrats a plan for a "full program of events" to commemorate the coming anniversary.
"Already, preparations are underway for a full program of events, including a discussion among historians about the narrative of that day; an opportunity for Members to share their experiences and reflections from that day; and a prayerful vigil in the evening," Pelosi wrote. "All events will be live-streamed, so that Members can watch and participate from their districts. As always, we will continue to work with the House Historian to establish and preserve our records in this regard."
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