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On January 3, three days before the Capitol attack, Enrique Tarrio, the head of the far-right organization known as Proud Boys, shared a cryptic message on the Telegram messaging app: “What if we invaded it? “
The message was sent to its more than 7,000 subscribers on the app, with the first response being “January 6 is D-Day in America.”
The Wall Street Journal has examined thousands of posts by the Proud Boys and their members on Parler, Telegram and Gab, the social media platforms they have rallied supporters online after being mostly banned from Facebook and Twitter. The messages show that the group repeatedly invoked President Trump’s rhetoric in the weeks leading up to the January 6 protest as it built momentum towards what has become a violent confrontation.
Investigators said they were taking a close look at online posts like these as they tried to determine the planning and intent of those involved in the attack on Capitol Hill.
Review of the Journal, which included now deleted posts that have been archived by researchers, suggests the Proud Boys viewed Mr. Trump’s posts as a call to action.
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