Joe Biden Calls Donald Trump a Democratic Threat Ahead of Capitol Riot's Third Anniversary

Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be facing off once again, ahead of the upcoming third anniversary of the Capitol riot that happened on January 6, 2021. As Biden calls Trump a democratic threat to the American society, the Republican front-runner vows to pardon the defendants of the Capitol building crime. The 77-year-old has an ongoing indictment in the federal court alongside other legal battles. 

To refresh the memory, three years back in 2021, a mob of thousands broke into the Capitol building, smashing the windows, damaging property, and trampling the police in charge to keep Trump in power. The former president lost the 2020 elections to Biden, which led to the nuisance, and consequently, faced federal charges for the same. 

Meanwhile, Trump has promised that he'll forgive the hundreds of defendants for the violent attack on the Capitol building. But Biden isn't taking it lightly, and as the third anniversary of the Jan.6 attack is approaching, the Democrat has warned Americans of his political rival if he's re-elected in 2024, per The Independent.

The Jan.6 speech is considered a key strategy of the Biden campaign, and the president is likely to deliver it on Friday, January 5, 2023, near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. He's expected to highlight the high stakes of the 2024 presidential elections, including a potential "Trump threat" to the US democracy. 

According to Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks, Biden's speech in the swing state will aim to "make the case directly that democracy and freedom remain central to the fight we're in today." Another campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, echoed Trump's threat to American democracy "has only grown more dire in the years since." 

However, Trump has contradicted these claims and often referred to the riot defendants as "hostages" and "patriots." He openly vowed to pardon them "fully" on day one of his second term in the White House. Meanwhile, a political action committee that supports Trump's campaign also provides financial help to many defendants of the January 6 riots. 

However, Special Counsel Jack Smith detailed evidence in a court filing in which he claimed Trump unlawfully tried to overturn the 2020 elections in his favor. Smith wrote in his filing, "This evidence shows that the rioters' disruption of the certification proceeding is exactly what the defendant intended on January 6," per ABC News. 

One of the evidence submitted in the court by Smith's office dates back to Trump's speech in 2012 when he made even voting fraud allegations. Prosecutors used this to back their claims, saying this "demonstrates the defendant's common plan of falsely blaming fraud for election results he does not like." 

That aside, prosecutors have also said they'd provide the jury statements by Trump from both the 2016 and 2020 elections, where he refused to hand over power to another president peacefully. The Republican candidate also pressured state officials to interfere with the 2020 elections and called them "rigged." 

Despite 91 felony charges across four indictments, Trump has maintained a dominance in the GOP Primary polls, leading his Republican rivals and the Democrats.