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Washington (AP) - With disturbing video recordings and a meticulous retelling of the violent attack on the US Capitol, the prosecutors in the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump have reinforced their allegations against the former US President.
In the US Senate, the prosecutors presented dramatic and, in some cases, previously unpublished video scenes of the storming of the Congress seat by Trump supporters in early January.
They accused Trump of having prepared the ground for the attack for months with his election fraud allegations and ultimately having deliberately instigated and orchestrated the outbreak of violence.
Supporters of the elected president had violently stormed the Capitol on January 6th.
Congress met there to officially confirm the election victory of Trump's successor Joe Biden.
Five people were killed in the riots, including a police officer.
Trump had recently incited his supporters at a rally that the election victory had been stolen from him.
Among other things, he said: "If you do not fight like the devil, you will have no more land."
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The Democrats therefore accuse him of “inciting a riot” and have initiated impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.
This procedure is managed and decided in the Senate.
The Congress Chamber takes on the role of a court.
The US House of Representatives prosecutors began to present their arguments on the matter.
They presented tons of material to support their allegations.
A large part were public statements from Trump himself: tweets, interviews, video messages, campaign appearances and that rally on January 6th.
The prosecutors also recorded the attack on the Capitol to the minute with haunting video recordings: with shaky videos from the ranks of the rioters who overran the security barricades, invaded the Capitol with brute force, attacked security guards, and devastated offices and meeting rooms.
With police radio recordings in which officials desperately called for reinforcements.
With recordings from body cameras of police officers who were beaten down.
With recordings from security cameras from inside the congress building, which showed how the mob spread in the Capitol and how MPs, senators and employees got to safety.
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The prosecutors repeatedly pointed out how close the rioters got to MPs and senators in Congress - including then Vice President Mike Pence.
Video footage showed, for example, how Senator Mitt Romney was able to turn around just in time after a police officer warned him and flee from the intruders.
Prosecutor Stacey Plaskett MP said the mob had been hunting down individual politicians, including Pence and the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
Plaskett stressed that if the attackers found Pelosi, they would have killed her.
Members of the prosecution team also recounted their personal experiences of that day.
MP Madeleine Dean told how she and other MPs were stuck in the House of Representatives plenary when rioters pounded on the door of the boardroom.
"I'll never forget that sound," she said through tears.
"This attack would never have happened without Donald Trump."
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Prosecutors accused Trump of beginning to instill suspicion and incite his base long before the November presidential election.
They explained how Trump built up the argument over months that he could only lose the election under one condition: if it came to large-scale fraud.
After the election, Trump started a campaign against his defeat, which finally culminated in the outbreak of violence at the Capitol.
The lead prosecutor, Jamie Raskin, said Trump sent his supporters to the protests in a targeted manner, encouraging violence in advance and "frenzied" the crowd on the day of the attack.
The then president followed the riot with enthusiasm.
"He watched it on television like a reality show."
Another prosecutor, MP Joaquin Castro, said Trump simply "left everyone in the Capitol to die".
With the impeachment process, the Democrats want to hold Trump accountable even after his departure from the White House and at the same time ensure that he is banned from future offices at the federal level.
The prerequisite would be that the Republican is convicted in the impeachment process.
The two-thirds majority in the Senate required for this is currently not foreseeable.
After the presentation by the prosecutors, Trump's defense lawyers are expected to have their turn from Friday.
It is expected that the procedure could be completed in a few days: at the earliest on the weekend or at the beginning of the coming week.
Trump's lawyers reject the accusations and describe the case against the ex-president as unconstitutional.
Trump had not recognized Biden's clear victory in the presidential election on November 3.
To date, he has not presented any evidence of manipulation.
His camp failed with dozens of lawsuits.
Trump has still not admitted his defeat.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210211-99-390202 / 3