Capitol Riot

Trump Knew Capitol Was Breached When He Vilified Pence on Twitter, Jan. 6 Panel Will Show

The vice president was “one window pane away from the mob" and evacuated in the "nick of time," Rep. Pete Aguilar of the Jan. 6 committee told NBC News in an interview.

Mike Pence
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File

Former President Donald Trump knew rioters had taken a hold at the Capitol on Jan. 6 when he tweeted that Mike Pence wasn't willing to overturn the election, according to a member of the House committee investigating the insurrection who told NBC News the panel will show the former vice president was in more physical danger than previously known.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., who will play a key role in leading the committee's third public hearing on Thursday, previewed the panel's findings by telling NBC News that Pence was "evacuated in just the nick of time" from the quickly advancing mob after a disparaging tweet from Trump.

"We notice right away, you know, within 90 seconds, the vice president is being evacuated right after that Trump tweet," Aguilar said in an interview with NBC News correspondent Garrett Haake.

"[Trump] knew that there was violence and he still tweeted the vice president didn’t have the courage to do what was necessary," Aguilar added.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

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