As he waits to find out if the Justice Department will charge him for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump will now have to contend with a federal judge’s ruling that a January 6 rioter “followed President Trump’s instructions” on the day of the riot.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found Trump supporter Danean MacAndrew guilty on four counts Tuesday, but she also ruled that MacAndrew had acted on the advice of the ex-president, writing:
“After MacAndrew read then-President Trump’s announcement that he would hold a rally on January 6, 2021 that ‘w[ould] be wild,’ she made plans to attend, excited to hear then-President Trump speak and to protest against the 2020 Presidential Election.
“And at the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally, then-President Trump eponymously exhorted his supporters to, in fact, stop the steal by marching to the Capitol. Defendant marched to the Capitol where, she testified, she understood that only Congress had the power to fix the election’s outcome and that Congress was likely in session while she was around and in the Capitol.”
Next was the direct mention of Trump, with the judge concluding:
“Having followed then-President Trump’s instructions, which were in line with her stated desires, the Court therefore finds that Defendant intended her presence to be disruptive to Congressional business.
“[H]eeding the call of former President Trump, she continued onwards to ‘stop the steal. For her participation in the insurrection of January 6, the Court finds Danean MacAndrew GUILTY.”
This latest ruling could help DOJ prosecutors decide to indict Trump for his role in the horrors of Jan. 6, and it also gives potential plaintiffs a legal footing to sue the former president for millions of dollars in damages.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has been appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to determine if Trump should be charged for Jan. 6 also also for hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
