Outgoing U.S President Donald Trump has “unequivocally condemned” the January 6 breach of Congress by his supporters.
“I want to be very clear: I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week, Trump said in a video message posted by the White House on Twitter.
The president noted that the “incursion of the U.S Capitol struck at the very heart” of the country and “angered millions of Americans” across party lines.
The sole article of impeachment, “incitement of insurrection”, received the votes of 10 fellow members of Trump’s Republican Party.
Trump noted that violence and vandalism had no place in his Make America Great Again movement, which he said had always been about defending the rule of law.
“Mob violence goes against everything I believe in, and everything our movement stands for. No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence; no true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag. No true supporter of mine could ever threaten or harass their fellow Americans. If you do any of these things, you are not supporting our movement, you are attacking it, and you are attacking our country”.
Emphasising that those involved in the Capitol attack would be brought to justice, Trump called for peace and national reconciliation.
He said it was time for everyone who believed in “our agenda” to start thinking of ways to ease tensions and calm tempers.
The president said he had received security briefing on reports of additional demonstrations being planned in Washington and across the country in the coming days.
He cautioned against violence and any other form of criminality, adding that he had directed law enforcement agencies to spare no resources in maintaining order.
Trump also commented on his ban on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms, describing it as an “unprecedented assault on free speech”.
“These are tense and difficult times, the efforts to censor, cancel and blacklist our fellow citizens are wrong and they are dangerous. What is needed now is for us to listen to one another, not to silence one another”.
