At the rally, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and several Republican members of Congress addressed the crowd and repeated Donald Trump's false claims that electoral fraud affected the 2020 election outcome. In his hour-long speech, President Trump suggested marching towards the Capitol, assuring his audience he would be with them, to demand that Congress "only count the electors who have been lawfully slated", and "peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard". Towards his conclusion, he said "we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."[4][5][6]
The demonstrations turned violent with attendees breaching multiple police perimeters; assaulting Capitol police officers; and occupying, vandalizing,[7][8] and ransacking[9] parts of the building for several hours.[9][10] Four people died that day: rioter Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer; two died of heart conditions; another died of an amphetamine intoxication. The next day, Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died after suffering two strokes, having been physically attacked and pepper sprayed during the riot.[11][12][13][14]