Here’s a timeline of some of the highlights from January 6, based on reports from CNN and others, congressional testimony, court documents from the Department of Justice and more. Times are approximate and these events cover only a fraction of what happened that day.
7:30 in the morning
Meadows sent text messages to Rep. Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, who supported Trump’s effort to overturn the election, according to texts obtained by CNN. Meadows tells Jordan, “I pushed for it,” responding to a text Jordan sent the night before recommending that Vice President Mike Pence cancel the election while he presides over the certification of the Electoral College results by Congress. Meadows also tells Jordan that he’s “not sure that’s going to happen.”
9:24 am
Trump spoke on the phone with Jordan for about 10 minutes, according to White House call logs obtained by the Washington Post.
9:52 am
Trump spoke with senior adviser Stephen Miller for 26 minutes, according to White House call logs obtained by the Washington Post.
Before 10 a.m
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato informed Trump that according to Hutchinson’s testimony, authorities at the Ellipse, where Trump was to hold a rally, encountered attendees with weapons, including handguns, rifles, bear spray and spears.
Around 10:15 a.m
Hutchinson and Ornato informed Meadows of armed mob members forming at the Ellipse, according to Hutchinson’s testimony. Hutchinson told lawmakers that Meadows didn’t respond much when she told him about reports of guns in the crowd.
10:47 am
Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani begins his speech at the Ellipse rally, calling on lawmakers to cancel the election and telling the crowd “let’s have a trial by battle.” Giuliani shared the podium with another right-wing lawyer, John Eastman, the architect of the Trump-backed plan for Pence to overturn the results, as he presided over a joint session of Congress that day, where lawmakers certify the winner of the Electoral College.
Before 12 p.m
Trump tells his staff to “take the fucking magazines away,” referring to the metal detectors at the security line for his Ellipse rally, because the rally-goers “were not here to hurt me,” according to Hutchinson’s testimony. Trump wanted to increase the size of the crowd, Hutchinson said.
12 in the evening
Trump begins his speech at the Ellipse, where he repeats many of his campaign lies and publicly pressures Pence to go along with Eastman’s legally dubious scheme.
Around 1 p.m
Pro-Trump rioters — including members of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group — broke through the first set of barriers outside the Capitol and began rushing toward the building. Senior White House officials, including Meadows, were quickly alerted by the US Secret Service that police lines at the Capitol were collapsing, according to Hutchinson’s testimony.
1:10 p.m
As he concluded his speech at the Ellipse, Trump called on his supporters to “walk down Pennsylvania Avenue” and march on the Capitol. He also tells the crowd that he will march with them. Around the same time, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican and Trump ally, called Hutchinson and angrily told her not to let Trump into the Capitol, according to Hutchinson’s testimony.
1:19 p.m
Trump is back in the White House. During the short trip back from the Ellipse, Trump became angry and demanded to be driven to the Capitol, but members of his security team refused to take him there, according to Hutchinson, who testified that she was told of the exchange by Ornato and another member of Trump’s security.
Around 2 p.m
The Capitol goes into lockdown as some of the first rebels break into the building. Back at the White House, White House Counsel Cipollone told Meadows that Trump must act to stop the riot and that “something has to be done or people are going to die,” according to Hutchinson’s testimony.
2:13 p.m
The Senate abruptly adjourns amid debate over the GOP’s objection to Biden’s electoral votes from Arizona.
2:14 p.m
In one of the riot’s most scandalous scenes, QAnon supporter Doug Jensen threatens US Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who cunningly leads Jensen away from the nearby Senate floor.
Around 2:15 p.m
At the White House, Cipollone again tells Meadows that Trump needs to step in. Meadows responded by saying Trump “doesn’t want to do anything” about the riot and that Trump agrees with the rioters who are calling for Pence to be hanged, according to Hutchinson’s testimony.
2:24 p.m
Trump blasted Pence in a tweet blasting Pence for refusing to implement his illegal election override scheme while presiding over a joint session of Congress.
2:28 p.m
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, a Georgia Republican and pro-Trump conspiracy theorist, told Meadows via text message that she should “tell the president to calm people down,” according to reports obtained by CNN.
2:30 p.m
US Capitol Police began evacuating members of the House and Senate, and the Secret Service evacuated Pence from the Senate floor, where he was the Speaker.
2:32 p.m
Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who promoted many of Trump’s campaign lies, texted Meadows that “the president should tell the people in the Capitol to go home,” according to reports obtained by CNN.
2:35 p.m
Trump’s former acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, texted Meadows that Trump “must stop this immediately” and offered help, according to reports obtained by CNN.
2:38 p.m
Trump tweeted that the rioters should “keep the peace” but stopped short of telling them to leave the Capitol.
2:39 p.m
Some of the Capitol’s first windows were broken by Dominic Pezzola, a supposed Proud Boy who was accused of a seditious plot. (He has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the attack.) More pro-Trump rioters flooded the Capitol after scaling barricades, brawling with police officers and scaling the inauguration scaffolding.
Around 2:40 p.m
A group of Oath Keepers – a far-right extremist group – sneaks through crowds of rioters in a military-style formation and enters the Capitol building. Several members of the group have been charged with seditious conspiracy.
2:44 p.m
Trump supporter Ashley Babbitt was fatally shot by a police officer while trying to break into the Speaker’s lobby, which is adjacent to the House floor, as lawmakers evacuated. Meanwhile, Congressman Barry Loudermilk, a Georgia Republican who supported overturning Biden’s victory in his state, texted Meadows that “it’s really bad up here on the Hill,” according to reports obtained by CNN.
Around 2:45 p.m
Pro-Trump rioters storm the Senate and storm House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.
2:53 p.m
Donald Trump Jr sends a message to Meadows: “He needs to condemn (sic) this bullshit. As soon as possible. Captiol (sic) the police tweet is not enough,” according to reports obtained by CNN. Meadows replies, “I push a lot. I agree.”
Sometime before 3 p.m
Trump spoke by phone with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who pleaded with Trump to call off the mob, but Trump sided with the rebels, telling McCarthy that they seemed to care more about the election results than he did, according to a CNN report.
Around 3 p.m
White House aides are drafting a statement for Trump to release that would condemn the violence and “unlawful” actions of the rebels, according to Hutchinson’s testimony. The statement was never published.
3:09 in the afternoon
Trump’s former chief of staff, Reince Priebus, texted Meadows “TELL THEM TO GO HOME !!!,” according to reports obtained by CNN.
3:13 p.m
Trump tweeted that his supporters at the Capitol should “keep the peace,” but again stopped short of telling them to leave the premises. At the same time, former Trump health secretary Tom Price sent a message to Meadows saying, “POTUS needs to get on the air and defuse this,” according to reports obtained by CNN.
3:15 p.m
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, called the rioters “patriots” in a tweet and told them the “violence must stop,” but stopped short of saying they should leave the Capitol.
3:31 in the afternoon
Fox News host Sean Hannity, who promoted many of Trump’s campaign lies, texted Meadows: “Can she make a statement. I saw the tweet. Ask people to leave the capital peacefully,” according to reports obtained by CNN. Meadows answers “to him.”
4:05 in the afternoon
Trump Jr. texted Meadows: “We need an oval address. He must lead now. It went too far and got out of control,” according to reports obtained by CNN. A few minutes later, Trump Jr. sent another message saying, “Biden is beating us to the punch now.”
4:15 p.m
Biden delivered a televised address in which he said the attack on the Capitol was “bordering on rioting” and urged Trump to tell his supporters to “end this siege.”
4:17 in the afternoon
Trump posted a video on Twitter telling the rioters “you need to go home now” but also praising them and repeating the lie that fueled the attack itself – that the 2020 election was stolen.
6:01 in the evening
Trump tweeted that “these are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously and vilely taken away from great patriots.”
Around 8 p.m
The US Capitol Police announce that the Capitol building is secured. The Senate reconvenes and Pence returns to the podium, saying, “To those who wreaked havoc in our capital today, you did not win.” Sen. Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the chamber, called the day’s events a “failed insurrection.”
8:39 p.m
Trump spoke on the phone with Giuliani for nine minutes, according to White House call logs obtained by the Washington Post.
9:02 p.m
The house reconvenes.
10:11 in the evening
The Senate voted to reject an objection raised by Republican lawmakers to the recount of Arizona’s electoral votes, which were awarded to Biden because he won that state’s popular vote.
10:19 in the evening
Trump spoke with former White House strategist Steve Bannon for seven minutes,…
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