Trump also said to march peacefully
Executive summary
President Trump did say, on Jan. 6, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” a line that is plainly in multiple official transcripts and press reports impeachment-trial" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">[1] [2] [3]; but that single phrase sits inside a longer speech that also urged attendees to “fight like hell,” told them “we’re going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue … and we are going to the Capitol,” and included rhetoric prosecutors and many journalists say helped spur violence [4] [5] [6].
1. What he actually said — the record
The sentence invoking a “peaceful and patriotic” march appears verbatim in the rally transcript and was captured on C-SPAN and cited in mainstream fact-checking and news accounts; outlets including NPR, BBC, AP, Newsweek and Snopes document the quote and confirm its authenticity [1] [7] [2] [8] [9].
2. The line in context — not an isolated exhortation
That reference to marching “peacefully and patriotically” came amid repeated calls to “fight” and a direct statement that he would “walk down Pennsylvania Avenue — I’ll be with you” and encouragements to show “strength,” language which critics argue converted metaphorical rhetoric into imminent action and undercut the nonviolent phrasing [4] [5] [6].
3. How defenders use the phrase
Trump’s legal team and some supporters point to the single “peacefully and patriotically” line as evidence he explicitly urged nonviolence and thus did not incite the riot, a defense repeated in coverage of impeachment and court arguments and acknowledged by multiple transcripts and fact-checks [1] [2] [10].
4. How critics parse the same words
Impeachment managers, prosecutors, and many journalists counter that the one use of “peaceful” was swallowed by a speech that repeatedly urged fighting, praised confrontational chants, and culminated in a literal march that turned violent; they argue the totality of statements and later tweets praising or equivocating about the attackers negates the protective power of that single phrase [11] [6] [12].
5. Fact-checking and legal analysis — nuance matters
Multiple fact-checkers and legal analysts concur that while the “peacefully and patriotically” line is real, its presence does not automatically negate claims of incitement because context, subsequent statements (including tweets and videos during and after the riot), and how the audience understood repeated “fight” rhetoric are relevant to legal and historical judgments [8] [6] [12].
6. Implicit agendas and media framing to watch for
Conservative sources and Trump allies emphasize the peaceful line to argue exoneration and to highlight alleged selective editing by opponents, while Democratic impeachment managers and many mainstream outlets emphasize the surrounding calls to action and post-rally communications to argue culpability; both sides use the same transcript selectively to advance political and legal narratives [9] [11] [12].
7. Bottom line for readers
The factual claim that Trump told the crowd they would march “peacefully and patriotically” is accurate and documented across primary transcripts and reporting [1] [3] [2]; assessing responsibility for the riot requires weighing that sentence against the broader speech, subsequent messages from Trump, how attendees interpreted calls to “fight,” and legal standards for incitement — matters debated in courts, in Congress, and by independent analysts [6] [5] [12].