Trump impeachment charge accuses him of ‘incitement of insurrection’

Democrats are charging President Donald Trump with “incitement of insurrection” as part of their impeachment attempt, following the US Capitol riot last week

US Democrats are charging United States President Donald Trump with “incitement of insurrection” as part of their attempt to impeach him, following the invasion of the US Capitol by pro-Trump supporters that left five people dead, including one police officer.

They have filed a resolution which says Mr Trump addressed a rally shortly before his supporters mounted the attack and made statements that “encouraged and foreseeably resulted in” the violence.

This comes after Arnold Schwarzenegger has compared the Donald Trump-supporters who broke into the US Capitol to Nazis in an online video message detailing his experience of growing up during the aftermath of World War 2.

Republicans have blocked a House of Representatives resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Mr Trump from office, and proceedings have been adjourned until tomorrow.

A vote on proceeding with the impeachment itself could happen on Wednesday and needs a simple majority to pass.

President Trump has been widely accused of inciting the rioters who stormed the heart of US democracy – the Capitol building – on 6 January.

His presidency only has days remaining, with Joe Biden’s inauguration set to take place on 20 January, but Mr Trump could soon become the only US president to be impeached twice.

The article of impeachment says Mr Trump repeated false claims about the election result, such as he had won by a “landslide”.

It says he “willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged – and foreseeably resulted in – lawless action at the Capitol, such as: ‘if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore’.”

This comes after UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has said that President Trump’s comments “directly led” to violence after five people have died after a pro-Trump mob stormed the building in a bid to overturn the election result.

It states that Mr Trump’s words incited people to break into the Capitol, where they “injured and killed law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress, the Vice President, and Congressional personnel, and engaged in other violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts”.

He was first impeached over claims he pressured Ukraine’s president to launch a corruption investigation into Mr Biden and his son. The Republican-led Senate went on to acquit him in February last year.

If passed by the House, the latest impeachment process would move to the Senate for a trial, with senators acting as jurors who would ultimately vote on whether to acquit or convict Mr Trump.