Trump 'adamantly wanted to go to the Capitol' to join Jan. 6 mob: retired DC cop

A retired Washington, D.C., police officer says former President Donald Trump was adamant about joining his mob of supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Mark Robinson, who testified before the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection, corroborated Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony about the former president's behavior in his motorcade during an interview Monday night with CNN's Don Lemon.

"We've heard it several times while it was on the motorcade," Robinson said. "I think during the speech, shortly thereafter, he had finished the speech, that the president was getting into the motorcade and he was upset, and he adamantly wanted to go to the Capitol, and even when we departed from the Ellipse it was repeated again."

"It was a heated argument in the limo, and he wanted to definitely go to the Capitol," Robinson added.

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Robinson said he did not fully understand the risk for violence when Trump demanded to join his supporters, but he said that hindsight showed that could have been disastrous if the president had been taken to the insurrection.

"Now knowing what actually happened, that would've been horrible," he said. "Had the motorcade responded to the Capitol, I think, would've just been far worse. I think it would have probably encouraged more rioting, and (the rioters would have) felt supported if the presidential motorcade came in support of them. So I think the insurrectionists probably would have felt as though they had the support of the president."

The retired police officer said he can't understand why Trump wanted to join the mob.

"I can't imagine anyone, especially in that position, wanting to go to the Capitol," he said. "You talk about the president. I just can't imagine someone wanting to go to the Capitol under those conditions... Had we made that move, I thought it would have been an insane movement and I think the sentiment was felt even with the Secret Service."