Former President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would hold a news conference on Jan. 6, one year after the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol, which the Republican has been accused of fomenting.
Trump said he will discuss the events of that day, in which rioters marched to the Capitol after hearing him speak outside the White House. Trump told the crowd of supporters he would never concede the Nov. 3 election and urged them to “fight like hell” before they went to the Capitol, where lawmakers were preparing to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.
Four people died on the day of the riot, and one Capitol police officer died the next day of injuries sustained while defending Congress. Hundreds of police were injured during the multi-hour onslaught by Trump supporters, and four officers have since taken their own lives.
More than 700 people have been arrested in connection with the assault on the Capitol.
The news conference will be at Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida, he said in a statement that reprised his false claims about the presidential election won solidly by Biden.
A congressional select committee is investigating the deadly attack, including Trump’s actions and his efforts to change the results of the election.
The committee had no comment on Trump’s announcement, a spokesman said.
A federal appeals court this month rejected Trump’s request to withhold documents from the committee because of executive privilege, noting that Biden, as president, has already authorized their release.
A spokesman for House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, did not immediately return a request for comment.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis;)
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