A Wednesday report from The New York Times spotlighted the chaos in the Capitol the same day and the purported effort to “hunt down” Vice President Mike Pence , who ultimately oversaw the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.
The publication highlighted the social media groups that were reportedly emboldened by Donald Trump, who held a rally encouraging a march on the Capitol earlier Wednesday and has recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the White House’s second-in-command for refusing to go along with the plan to oppose Biden’s win.
“On Gab, they documented going into the offices of members of Congress, including that of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Dozens posted about searching for Vice President Mike Pence, who had been the target of Mr. Trump’s ire earlier in the day,” the report read.
“At 2:24 p.m., after Mr. Trump tweeted that Mr. Pence ‘didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done,’ dozens of messages on Gab called for those inside the Capitol building to hunt down the vice president. In videos uploaded to the channel, protesters could be heard chanting ‘Where is Pence?’”
As The Inquisitr reported, CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta claimed on Wednesday that Trump’s administration was in contact with some of the rioters who stormed Capitol Hill, which led to some raising concern about the purported ties.
According to CNN , a source close to Pence claimed that Trump “did little” to check on the well-being of the former Indiana governor and his family while they were trapped in the U.S. Capitol amid the riots. The source echoed The New York Times piece and noted that some protesters were screaming for Pence.
According to CNN , several sources close to Pence believe he was set up as a “scapegoat” to take the blame from Trump’s supporters for failing to help the U.S. leader amid his purported desire to launch a coup to stay in power.
Journalist John Rosevear previously floated the idea that Trump was setting Pence up as a “fall guy” and suggested this plan would prevent the head of state from resigning. Elsewhere, Matt Naham also argued in a Law & Crime op-ed that Trump set up the 61-year-old politician to be a “fall guy” with his claims that he has the power to overturn the ratification of Biden’s win. Naham noted that legal experts are in agreement that Pence does not have this authority.
Unlike Trump, Pence condemned the storming of the Capitol and threatened to prosecute those involved.
