Capitol rioters made no secret of their support for Donald Trump.
They donned his signature red caps and wore clothes emblazoned with his name as they disrupted Congress on Jan. 6.
They praised him before the insurrection on social media and afterwards in interviews with reporters and the FBI.
And, according to campaign finance records, many of the same people charged in the Capitol riot sent their own money to Trump’s re-election campaign. Even after his loss in November, they threw their cash behind his efforts to challenge the election as he touted the lie that it had been stolen.
A USA TODAY analysis of Federal Elections Commissions records for 2019 and 2020 reveals that at least 75 of the 307 people charged with the riot through March 18 made political donations. More than 98% of their contributions went to Republican candidates and committees, and nearly 87% of them donated to Trump.
Despite the repeated insistence of some Republicans that Antifa agitators attacked the Capitol that day, the contributions add to the already ample evidence that those who took part in the insurrection were there for Trump.
Money continued to roll in after the Nov. 3 election, with more than $10,600 – or 25% – of all contributions coming as Trump fundraised off his false claims that he had won the election and needed to fight it in court. At least 40 of the accused rioters made contributions after the election.
USA TODAY’s totals are almost certainly an undercount of donors. Federal laws require campaigns to itemize contributions from individuals exceeding $200. While the FEC data on the rioters included some contributions below that amount, others likely went unrecorded.
