A long time after Jan. 6, Trump began telling the American people that he had offered Nancy Pelosi 10,000 National Guardsmen to protect the Capital on that day. Considering that Trump said it, and the length of time it took him to come up with this story, I conclude it was just another lie. But let's pretend we believe it.

If the president of the United States knew that the people he had told to come to the Capital on that day would be so prone to violence that it required that number of guardsmen, he should have done the right thing and canceled his rally.

Instead, knowing that the crowd would include: members of right wing militias, the Proud Boys, the Oathkeepers, QAnon, conspiracy theorists, and your basic racists, he not only held his “Stop the Steal” rally but he and his puppets gave speeches to fire them even more. He then told them to march on the Capital and “fight like hell.”

As his mob attacked the Capital and people were being injured and some died, he did nothing for almost three hours but watch to see if it would succeed in stopping the results of a legal and fair election.

So, whether you believe the truth or his lie, the fact still remains that Trump is solely and directly responsible for what happened on Jan. 6 and should be held accountable.

Raymond Abate, Valencia