Weeks before mobs besieged the Capitol building in Washington, a bright red bus crisscrossed the United States, emblazoned with a huge image of Trump in suit and tie with a clenched fist above his shoulder https://reut.rs/39nf4S1
At more than 25 stops, flight-attendant-turned-political-activist Amy Kremer and other speakers exhorted crowds to join her and others in Washington to fight for Trump and overturn the election. And last Wednesday, the tour reached its final destination: Washington D.C.
The crowds that rally organizers recruited were joined in Washington by more radical right-wing groups that have increasingly become a fixture at pro-Trump demonstrations - including devotees of the QAnon conspiracy theory
Others among the diverse array of promoters for post-election Trump protests included a pillow magnate, a right-wing college students’ organization, the newly formed activist network Stop the Steal and an upstart broadcasting group begun by a stay-at-home dad
In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s deadly riots on Capitol Hill, Kremer and a loose coalition of groups and sponsors rallied the faithful, recruiting hardcore Trump supporters across the United States in a last-ditch effort to overturn the November election
Read the story of how the pied-pipers of Trumpism enlisted supporters illustrate a dramatic evolution of Trump’s voters https://reut.rs/39nf4S1 by @JTanfani @MJBerens1 and @nedmparker1