The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack revealed text messages sent by Brad Parscale, who served as a campaign manager for former President Donald Trump, indicating he thought Trump was responsible for the death of a rioter.
The messages were sent to former Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson.
“This is about Trump pushing for uncertainty in our country. A sitting president asking for civil war,” the texts, revealed at Tuesday’s public hearing, read. “This week, I feel guilty for helping him win.”
“You did what you felt was right at the time and therefore it was right,” came the response from Pierson.
“Yeah, but a woman is dead,” Parscale wrote referring to Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter who was fatally shot by a Capitol police officer. “If I was Trump and knew my rhetoric killed someone…”
Pierson replied, “It wasn’t rhetoric.”
“Katrina. Yes, it was,” Parscale concluded.
Parscale worked on both Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. He was demoted in July 2020 after Trump’s numbers hit a slump. Hestepped down completely in October of that year after he was hospitalized after a mental breakdown.