UPDATE: The article has been corrected to include credit to Seth Abramson, who has drawn out the facts presented in this article in his newsletter Proof. Omission of credit in the original story regretted.
The night before a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to block Congress from affirming the outcome of the 2020 election in president-elect Joe Biden's favor, there was a pre-insurrection meeting held at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, according to Txtwire CEO Daniel Beck.
In a video obtained from Beck's FB page, the Trump supporter claims he was at the Jan. 5 meeting that was attended by the likes of Trump's eldest son Donald Trump Jr., his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and MyPillow CEO Michael Lindell.
"This guy (Daniel Beck) says several senators, Don Jr, Rudy, etc attended a January 5 pre-Insurrection meeting at Trump International Hotel," Twitter user Rex Chapman captioned the clip.
Beck claimed there were fifteen people in the room at the Trump International Hotel in D.C. the night before the Capitol riots, including "several senators," detailing plans for the next day up until the inauguration. "A lot of big things are going to be happening tomorrow," Beck adds in the clip.
Beck also posted a photograph on his Facebook account on Jan. 5 in which he appears outside the hotel with father, Doyle Beck, an unidentified woman and two unidentified men wearing "Make America Great Again" caps.
A High-Profile Meeting Did Take Place at the Trump Hotel Before Riots
While we cannot confirm that the meeting was held to discuss plans to storm the Capitol building the following day, we do know that a meeting did take place at the Trump International Hotel between Trump campaign officials, members of the Trump family and at least one member of the United States senate on the eve of the insurrection.
As pointed out by author and Newsweek columnist, Seth Abramson in his newsletter Proof, Nebraska Republican Charles W. Herbster took to Facebook on Jan. 5. to share details of the meeting. In the post, which has since been deleted, he claims the meeting took place "in the private residence of the President" at his hotel. However, it is not yet clear if the former president was present during the meeting.
According to Herbster's post, the meeting's attendees included Trump's second-eldest son Eric Trump, former NSA Michael Flynn, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, Peter Navarro, Corey Lewandowski, David Bossie, Adam Piper and the four names mentioned by Beck in his video (Beck mentions some of the other names cited by Herbster in the caption of his photo outside the Trump hotel).
Tuberville denied he was ever at the Trump International Hotel on Jan. 5 but an Instagram photo does place him there at the D.C. hotel on the date, as claimed by Beck and Herbster.
Was the Insurrection Premeditated?
Guilfoyle's presence at the meeting should be noted given that "Stop the Steal" organizer Ali Alexander claims he received a call from Guilfoyle on the evening of Jan 5., when she was surrounded by Trump's family and advisers at the hotel.
Her presence at a private Team Trump strategy meeting the night before an armed insurrection extends support to the claim that the president's inner circle was in fact co-ordinating with men on the outside to incite violence at the Capitol.
The Omaha World Herald also reported that Herbster met with his compatriots at the Trump hotel on the eve of the Capitol Riots to "discuss how to pressure more members of Congress to object to the Electoral College results that declared Joe Biden the winner."
The report also cited that Herbster attended the "Stop the Steal/March to Save America" rally where Trump urged supporters to march to the Capitol but left the area to fly home before the riot. This has not yet been confirmed, but if true, it suggests Herbster was aware of the events that would transpire in the hours that followed and wanted to flee the scene and stay as far away as possible immediately after the rally.
