Pam Hemphill, a 70-year-old Idahoan who served two months in prison after being found guilty of participating in the Jan 6 riots, appeared on CNN on Jan 5. She condemned former President Trump for convincing her and others to go to the Capitol on Jan 6.
The entrapment
“I can’t say enough that I really believe that Trump was involved,” Hemphill said. “Trump knew exactly what was happening that day, and he sent us down there — it was a trap.”
The prologue
On Dec 19, 2020, Trump posted online about a “big protest” that would later become known as “Stop the Steal.” “Be there, will be wild!” Trump wrote.
Firing up the crowd
On Jan 6, 2021, Trump told the crowd of gathered MAGA supporters to “fight like hell.” Federal prosecutors argue that this incitement directly caused thousands of those gathered to head to the Capitol and participate in the riot.
Speaking against MAGA
“MAGA … have this way of demeaning you and putting you down,” Hemphill said. “There’s this huge gaslighting, smear campaign going on. Telling me it was a peaceful protest? I was there.”
Continued denials
Trump and many of his supporters fiercely deny that the events of Jan 6 constituted an insurrection. In early January, on the third anniversary of the attack, various Republican figures who initially condemned the riots supported these denials.
Ramaswamy’s theory
Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate, described Trump’s actions on Jan 6 as “downright abhorrent” soon after the event. However, he has since focused more on Republican suspicions surrounding the event and called Jan 6, 2024, “Entrapment Day.”
Changing faces
“Trump is now backed by many of the Republican leaders who fled for their lives and hid from the rioters,” the Associated Press noted, “even some who had condemned Trump.”
Not exactly peaceful
“I was there,” Hemphill said, “when [rioters] pushed those fates and those officers, and when they stepped on my head. It was an officer that saved my life that day.”
Widespread damage
At least 140 officers and many more participants were injured during the riot. In mid-2022, the government estimated that attackers caused more than $2.7 million in property damage.
Hard escape
“I was back and forth,” Hemphill said in June 2023, on her change in beliefs. “Struggling with it, because it’s a struggle trying to get away from gaslighting, Trump’s narcissism and all the tactics they use.”
“Cult” leader
“A lot of people are starting to recognize Trump is a cult leader. He turned MAGA into a cult,” Hemphill argued on CNN. “Trump is disgusting.”
Responsible individual
“He’s responsible,” Hemphill argued, “because he said, ‘March down there.’ He tries to use ‘Peacefully.’ No, he said, ‘Go fight like hell.’ That’s what he said, and he was talking to the wrong people because they took that literally.
Continued danger
“The narrative with the J6 is getting worse,” Hemphill warned. “And what’s happening with Trump’s rhetoric out there — the lone wolves are what I’m worried about. They’re going out there and becoming dangerous.”
Jail time
“I have a lot of faith in Jack Smith coming with receipts to prove that Trump was involved,” Hemphill said. “I think that, sadly, we’re going to have to wait till court for people to start realizing that Trump has lied about everything and Trump is a criminal, and he needs to have his day in court to be proven what we already know. That he is a criminal. He knows it.”
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