'Donald Trump was linchpin behind Capitol riots'
The Captiol riots would not have happened without Mr Trump, a former counter-terror official says.
Although there were a growing number of extremist groups in the United States before former President Donald Trump came to office, the Capitol riots would not have happened without him and the claim the election was stolen, a former counter-terror official in the Trump administration has said.
"There is no doubt that January 6 represents a failure for the United States in being able to confront this threat,鈥� Elizabeth Neumann, who was deputy chief of staff at the Department of 91热爆land Security, told 91热爆 Hardtalk.
"But honestly if you take Donald Trump out of the picture, if he had not claimed the election was stolen... you wouldn't have January 6. He is the linchpin behind what happened on January 6."
There are a still a lot of angry people who believe the election was stolen and a small percentage believe the violence was justified, and this is an issue that we need to address and confront, she said.
Former US President Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate of inciting the violence which occurred during the Capitol riots. Five people died.
Democrats and some Republicans have since backed an independent investigation into the riots.
