Trump MAGA mob erected noose outside Capitol, discussed hanging ‘traitor’ Pence from tree, says photojournalist
Jim Bourg, a Reuters photographer has claimed that during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol Building, he heard Donald Trump supporters speaking about executing VP Mike Pence. In a series of tweets on Friday, he wrote that he heard at least three MAGA fans speak about hanging Pence from a tree as a 'traitor'.
Taking to Twitter on Friday, the Reuters News Pictures Editor in D.C, wrote, "I heard at least 3 different rioters at the Capitol say that they hoped to find Vice President Mike Pence and execute him by hanging him from a Capitol Hill tree as a traitor. It was a common line being repeated. Many more were just talking about how the VP should be executed." Bourg was validating another tweet that claimed a similar display of violence. "There are multiple photographs of pro-Trump rioters carrying law enforcement-style flex-cuffs. Rioters went looking for @VP, @SpeakerPelosi, @SenSchumer. It raises the question of whether there was an organized plan to take hostages." Hundreds of Trump's followers broke into the building on Wednesday hunting for Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
I heard at least 3 different rioters at the Capitol say that they hoped to find Vice President Mike Pence and execute him by hanging him from a Capitol Hill tree as a traitor. It was a common line being repeated. Many more were just talking about how the VP should be executed. https://t.co/fxHREouEWF
— Jim Bourg (@jimbourg) January 8, 2021
From the many pictures of the fateful day, one can see a noose erected on a wooden frame on the West Front of the Capitol by the president's mob Wednesday afternoon. According to CNN, the VP and his family, who were trapped inside the US Capitol when Trump supporters stormed inside the halls of the Congress, could allegedly hear the angry and violent crowds shouting 'where's Mike Pence' as they rushed through the building. Even as rescue operations were underway, it was a matter of concern for those closest to Pence that the VP's life was at threat. "Was he [Trump] concerned at all that an angry mob that he commanded to march on the Capitol might injure the vice president or his family?" a source close to the vice president told CNN.
Those close to the vice president added that Pence was being set up as a "scapegoat". "[The President's personal attorney Giuliani] Rudy, [White House chief of staff Mark] Meadows and their teams have been trying to set up the vice president to take the fall as opposed to admitting they laid out false hope in all of this," the source said. "Trump just can't admit defeat and wants a scapegoat," the source added.
In a video with CNN, one Trump supporter named Penny Allison claimed that she believed "we should have gone on in and yanked our senators our by the hair of their head".
"States want to correct their votes, which they now know were based on irregularities and fraud, plus corrupt process never received legislative approval," Trump wrote on Wednesday morning, hours before his supporters tried to hunt Pence down. "All Mike Pence has to do is send them back to the States, AND WE WIN. Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!"
"If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us, we will win the Presidency. Many States want to decertify the mistake they made in certifying incorrect & even fraudulent numbers in a process NOT approved by their State Legislatures (which it must be). Mike can send it back!" he added.