‘I trusted the President’: Jan. 6 rioters in their own words

By NOMAAN MERCHANT
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many of the Jan. 6 rioters facing jail time have admitted they weren’t peaceful protesters and that they were wrong to participate in the U.S. Capitol attack. Some directly accuse former President Donald Trump of misleading them. While Trump continues to lie about the facts of the insurrection, the statements of his supporters in federal court tell a different story. One of them, retired Special Forces soldier Leonard Gruppo, wrote in a letter, “I trusted the President and that was a big mistake.” Other rioters remain defiant on the first anniversary of the insurrection.