Before Jan. 6, former aide to Roger Stone encouraged Trump supporters to 'descend on the Capitol'


Jason Sullivan, a onetime aide to Republican operative Roger Stone, was part of a conference call of supporters of then–President Donald Trump a week before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, and he encouraged them to "descend on the Capitol" while Congress met to finalize the electoral count, The New York Times reports.
The Times obtained a recording of the Dec. 30, 2020, phone call, and says Sullivan — a social media consultant who worked for a political action committee run by Stone, one of Trump's longtime friends and advisers — told those on the line that the election had been stolen from Trump. After declaring that they should "descend on the Capitol," Sullivan claimed he was "not inciting violence or or any kind of riots," but they needed to make lawmakers "understand that people are breathing down their necks."
Sullivan went on to say Trump was going to impose martial law and had no plans to give up the presidency and concede to Joe Biden, the Times reports. "Biden will never be in that White House," Sullivan said. "That's my promise to each and every one of you."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Justice Department has expanded its criminal investigation of the Capitol riot and is looking at those involved in the planning of rallies before the attack. It is not clear if anyone on the phone call with Sullivan went on to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, and Sullivan told the Times he was only sharing "some encouragement" to people "who all felt their votes had been disenfranchised in the 2020 elections."
Sullivan also said he was asked to join the call by a group of anti-vaccine activists who were hosting a "small, permitted event" at the Capitol on Jan. 6. "I only promoted peaceful solutions where Americans could raise their voices and be heard as expressed in our First Amendment," he said in the statement. "I in no way condone the violence of any protesters." Read more at The New York Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
The tourist flood in the Mediterranean: can it be stemmed?
Talking Point Finger-pointing at Airbnb or hotel owners obscures the root cause of overtourism in holiday hotspots: unmanageable demand
-
Trump's strikes on Iran: a 'spectacular success'?
In Depth Military humiliations 'expose the brittleness' of Tehran's ageing regime, but risk reinforcing its commitment to its nuclear program
-
Will NATO countries meet their new spending goal?
today's big question The cost of keeping Trump happy
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Bibi's back: what will Netanyahu do next?
Today's Big Question Riding high after a series of military victories, Israel's PM could push for peace in Gaza – or secure his own position with snap election