The New York Times is reporting that Jason Sullivan, a onetime aide to Trump ally Roger Stone, encouraged Trump supporters on a conference call to "descend on the Capitol" on January 6th, 2021 -- and he said that after they did, former President Donald Trump would declare martial law.
According to the report, Sullivan told Trump supporters that the purpose of going to the Capitol was to ensure members of Congress knew that "people are breathing down their necks" and demanding that they not certify President Joe Biden's victory.
He then said Trump would declare martial law to stop the certification of the election and said he would not leave office.
“Biden will never be in that White House,” Sullivan told the Trump supporters. “That’s my promise to each and every one of you.”
Sullivan also specifically said lawmakers should feel threatened.
“If we make the people inside that building sweat and they understand that they may not be able to walk in the streets any longer if they do the wrong thing, then maybe they’ll do the right thing,” he said. “We have to put that pressure there.”
The call took place on December 30, 2020, roughly a week before angry Trump fans violently rioted at the Capitol.
"Mr. Sullivan’s remarks during the call appeared to be an effort to motivate a group of people aggrieved by the election to take direct action against members of Congress on Jan. 6, presaging what Mr. Trump himself would say in a speech that day," notes the Times. "While it remains unclear whether anyone on Mr. Sullivan’s call went on to join the mob that breached the Capitol, he seemed to be exhorting his listeners to apply unusual pressure on lawmakers just as they were overseeing the final count of Electoral College votes."