Page:Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.pdf/557

 December 12, 2020. Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, Flynn, Jones, Alexander, and others shared a stage at that event. Grossu and Weaver exchanged emails just a few hours after President Trump's first mention of January 6th. In an email on the morning of December 19th, Weaver told Grossu to "enjoy the peace before the storm" and said, "Trump has called for a protest on 1/6, FYI." The Jericho March's website used President Trump's "Be there, will be wild!" language to advertise additional events between January 2nd and January 6, 2021.

Marsha Lessard, the leader of a vaccine-skeptic group, Virginia Freedom Keepers, worked to stage an event with Bianca Gracia, the leader of Latinos for Trump on January 6th. The women had ties to the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, respectively—two groups central to the violence on January 6. Latinos for Trump reportedly advertised their January 6th event with the same QAnon-inspired banner, "Operation Occupy the Capitol." Another conservative group, Moms for America, worked with Alexander before securing a permit for an event on January 5th.

As discussed above, Alex Jones was one of the loudest supporters of the "Stop the Steal" movement. Jones dedicated much of the December 20th episode of his InfoWars show to President Trump's "be wild" tweet, telling his listeners that nothing less than the fate of the American Republic was at stake. "He's calling you, he needs your help, we need your help," Jones told his audience. The Select Committee has learned that, between the time of the President's tweet and Jones's December 20th show, Jones's staff had several calls with Chafian, who had just procured a new permit for WFAF's event on the Ellipse. The two parties apparently discussed whether this newly hatched January 6th event was an opportunity to work together.

Jones's broadcast also led to an influx of funds for the January 6th event at the Ellipse. Julie Fancelli is the billionaire heiress to the Publix supermarket fortune and a longtime supporter of President Trump. Fancelli had recently become a donor to Jones's InfoWars site. She listened to Jones's December 20th show, and decided she wanted to back the cause.

Inspired by Jones and the fervor that continued to surround the President's tweet, Fancelli called Caroline Wren, a Republican fundraiser linked to the Trump Campaign, the next day. According to Wren, Fancelli said that "she wanted to see a lot of people there in DC, so how much would that cost?" Fancelli spoke with Jones's staff and they recommended that she connect with Chafian, who was organizing the Ellipse rally. In the waning days of 2020, Fancelli and Jones spoke several times.