close vote Trump acquitted of inciting Capitol attack after impeachment trial

The former president had been accused of incitement of insurrection over the events of January 6, which left five people dead.

Mr Trump was acquitted in his second impeachment trial (AP)

By AP Reporters

February 13 2021 09:22 PM

The US senate has acquitted former president Donald Trump of inciting the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

The vote gave Mr Trump a historic second acquittal in an impeachment trial.

House Democrats, who voted a month ago to charge Mr Trump with “incitement of insurrection”, needed two thirds of the senate, or 67 votes, to convict him.

The vote was 57-43, short of the two-thirds needed for conviction. Seven Republicans broke party ranks to find Mr Trump guilty.

The final vote total was 57-43, short of the two thirds required to secure conviction (Senate Television/AP)

Mr Trump later welcomed his acquittal, saying that his “Make America Great Again” movement “has only just begun”.

In a lengthy statement, the former president thanked his lawyers and defenders in US congress, who he said “stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country”.

Mr Trump slammed his trial as “yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country”.

And he told his supporters that “our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun”, and that he will have more to share with them in the months ahead.

The Democrats argued in the short trial that Mr Trump caused the violent attack by repeating for months the false claims that the November 2020 election was stolen from him, and then telling his supporters gathered near the White House that morning to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden.

Five people died after a mob laid siege to the Capitol.

Mr Trump’s lawyers argued that the rioters acted on their own accord and that the former president was protected by freedom of speech, an argument that resonated with most Republicans.

They said the case was brought on by Democrats’ “hatred” of Mr Trump.