WATCH: Meadows ‘did not act’ on concern that Jan. 6 could turn violent, former aide testifies

Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified on June 28 that former President Donald Trump and chief of staff Mark Meadows knew that many supporters who had shown up on the National Mall on Jan. 6 were armed with all sorts of weapons.

As the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack presented its findings to the public, Hutchinson said she witnessed Tony Ornato, the former deputy chief of staff for operations who was responsible for security, explain to Meadows about the number of weapons present among the crowd. Meadows, Hutchinson said, simply acknowledged the information and asked if the president knew.

In her deposition, she was also asked whether Meadows didn’t share mounting concerns about potential violence on Jan. 6 or whether he didn’t act on those concerns. She replied it was accurate to say he didn’t act on them.

The hearing was unexpectedly announced a week after the Jan. 6 committee said they were taking a break until the month of July. In the year since its creation, the committee has conducted more than 1,000 interviews, seeking critical information and documents from people witness to, or involved in, the violence that day.v

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