today stephen ayers, one of the live witnesses at this hearing. at one point in the hearing room, mr. ayers approached members of the capitol police in d. c. metropolitan police who were injured during january six or at the hearing today just watch the proceedings. mr. ayers spoke to each of them and reportedly apologized to them about his role in the capitol attack. i'm not sure the apologies from him went over well with all of those officers, buddy detective personally. that testimony from him about being there that day, responding to president trump's call. responding to president trump's call to go to the capitol building even though he hadn't planned to do that at all. as later testimony about his regret from his actions about participating in the capitol attack has effectively ruined his life. it's all very human, very effective on a personal level but i will say for the purposes of the committee's investigation, and the very question of the question of culpability of the trump and the crimes that were committed, mr. ayers testimony is more t

people like stephen ayers who -- and stephen ayers said this, addicted to social media addicted to everything president trump had set a stolen election, all of which were lies and which he now knows relies -- which he now knows were lies. judy: watching this in real time we had very little idea what was going on inside the white house. i know there were certainly -- there was a certainly reporting at the same time. we are learning there were a number of people around th president saying to him and talking to each other about what was happening was wrong, it was illegal. >> that is exactly right. pat cipollone now it is clear made clear to the president he did not think he was getting good advice, that folks around the president, sidney powell, rudy giuliani, the overstock.com ceo, pat cipollone he asked him who he was in the oval office. it is worth mentioning, with the -- administration there was no chance you would have unidentified people in the white house around the president. the president is getting legal advice from these folks, it is catastrophic. he made clear to the president he di

we heard from another man, stephen ayers, he said he was watching social media leading up to january he believed the election was stolen. he says he no longer sees it that way. the committee asked him why he did what he did on january 6 and this is what he said. >> why did you decide to march to the capitol? >> well, basically, the president got everybody riled up. told everybody to head on down. we basically were following what he said. >> did you think the president would be marching with you? >> yeah, i think everybody thought he would be coming down. he said it in his speech. kind of like he's going to be there with us. i believe that. lisa: and mr. ayers is yet to be sentenced. he will be in september. to that question whether the president wanted a riotous crowd to come to the capital, the committee is trying to make the case that this was not unintentional passions inflamed but something very intentional. i want to call up a draft tweet the committee said it uncovered from the group of advisors that want to things like martial law. it shows that the president signed off -- som

capitol police officer, harry dunn, who had that stunning moment after the hearing today, where stephen ayers, who was one of the rioters on january 6th, inside the capitol, approached him, and other capitol police officers to shake their hands. he's gonna tell us how he felt about that, after that hearing. >> that moment you described where the approach was made, it was defined by some observers asked, you know, x happened, and then, officer dunn later clarified, no, that's not what happened. it went down differently than you think it did. it was a pretty remarkable moment. and that photo was a pretty remarkable thing. i am really looking forward to see that interview. >> rachel, that's the photo that someone tweeted, and labeled it, apology offered, and of apology accepted. and then, officer dunn, re-tweeted that, saying apology offered, dot dot dot. did not say in his tweet whether it was accepted. we will ask him about that. >> excellent. get to it. >> thank you, rachel. >> well, the real job of the president of the united states is the part we never see. it's not the speech. it's not whe

>> he mentioned stephen ayers, a capitol rioter who testified today. you said it caught you off guard. tell me about this moment, and what was said. i know i spoke to you after the hearing, but i want the audience to hear what you thought of it. >> yeah. i don't remember what exactly mr. ayers said to me. like i said, it kind of caught me off guard. but, to the extent that he apologized, not to take away from his apology. i am not looking for apologies from anybody. i am not looking for apologies from the former president. and those who supported him on january 6th, i just want to count ability. his apology to me didn't really do anything, i hope you did something for him. but that is how i felt about it. >> sergeant ganahl, go on, what was it like for you? >> i feel the same way, just like mike said. that was generally done by him. i distinguish myself and my actions on the things i did on genera six. somehow, in the future, he will have to answer for the judge, or to his maker, whenever everything is said and done. i know i was trying to live my life

. >> reporter: wasn't just oath keepers and proud boys but stephen ayers of ohio, said many were hangingn trump's every word. >> why did you decide to march to the capitol? >> the president got everybody riled up, told everybody to head on down. we basically were following what he said. >> reporter: house committee holding next hearing on july 21st, the focus on what trump was doing during the capitol attack. alameda county, katie nielsen, kpix 5. >> committee also says that former president trump tried to contact a witness, not identified for featured in hearings, justice department asked to look into potential witness tampering. >>> in a few hours, president biden will touch down in israel, first trip to the middle east since taking office. will arrive in tel aviv, then the west bank meeting, then to saudi arabia, oil likely a topic of the discussion as oil prices plunged 7%, well below $100 a barrel. >>> new at 11:00, are pets paying price for soaring cost of living? >> a disturbing trend that's helped to fill one bay area shelter. >> before we get to the cute dog video, let's talk ab

stephen ayers was eventually charged for entering the capital that earlier that day. he was back as a witness. ayers testified about what he did in the day the insurrection. >> when you arrived at the ellipse that morning, were you planning on going to the capital? >> no, we didn't actually plan to go down there. we went basically to see the stop the steal rally and that was it. >> so why did you decide to march to the capitol? >> well basically, the president got everybody riled up and told everybody to head on down, so we basically just following what he said. >> here's something else to get riled up about. the hearing ended with a bombshell from republican vice chair liz cheney who revealed that trump himself tried to contact a witness for the committee. >> after our last hearing, president trump tried to call a witness in our investigation, a witness you have not yet seen in these hearings. that person declined to answer or respond to president trump's call and instead alerted their lawyer to the call. their lawyer alerted us and this committee has supplied that i

. >> reporter: the committee calling stephen ayers, a former trump supporter who showed up to hear president trump speak and was charged with disorderly conduct for entering the capitol >> were you planning on going to the capitol? >> no. we didn't actually plan to go down there. >> why did you decide to march to the capitol? >> basically the president, he got everybody riled up, told everybody to head on down so we basically just following what he said >> reporter: there was no cross-examination of witnesses today republicans have slammed the january 6th panel as partisan. every member of the committee was appointed by speaker pelosi mr. trump today blasting the committee as the same lunatics who drove the country crazy with their lies and made up stories like russia, russia, russia, though ayers today saying he no longer believes the claim of election fraud. >> do you still believe the election was stolen >> not so much now with all the lawsuits being shot down one after another. that was mainly with a convinced me >> reporter: afterwards, ayers hugging a member of the capitol police sayin

um as were most of his supporters, um you know, that's basically what got me to come down here, stephen ayers says. once the president tweeted to go home, he did, along with many others. also on the witness stand. a former spokesman for the extremist group, the oath keepers, he believes if the group had its way january, 6th could have been far deadlier. this could have been the spark that started a new civil war vice chair, liz cheney said they have become aware the former president tried to recently call a committee witness. they have yet to testify and did not answer the call. cheney says the matter has been referred to the justice department. in washington. lauren blanchard, fox news and the rioter who testified today during the hearing, apologize to police after that hearing, protester stephen ayers was seen approaching washington metropolitan police officer daniel hodges and former capitol police officer a culina gunnell. hodges told usa today that he asked heirs if he was sorry for his participation and heirs responded yes areas pleaded guilty last month to disorderly and disruptive con

stephen ayers says he and others were motivated by the former president's instructions.ot everybody roundup. what everybody had gone down. so we basically just following what he said and keeper jason van tate and hopes is january 6th have the potential to be even worse. this could have been the spark that started a new civil war in washington. i'm hannah brandt. >> so no miss a political science professor david mchugh and talk to us earlier. he said the biggest takeaway from today's hearing is that the january 6 panel provided more evidence of former president trump associates ties to extremist groups. but the committee also set up a bigger plan for the next hearing. >> i think today much more was about that radicalization. but setting up next week, you also have a surprise witness next week and on in washington, d.c., teaching a class here right now, the rumor on the hill as after next week's surprise witness that mike pence, the former vice president, comes in at some point. so the committee is clearly building for some type of a larger a set of players and happen next

>> reporter: david, and his name is stephen ayers, and before he even traveled to washington, d.c. and stormed the capitol, he posted on social media highlighting a tweet from former president donald trump telling his supporters to be there on january th, saying it would be wild. tomorrow, the committee will try to make the case that trump's words were a signal to violent extremist groups like the proud boys and the oath keepers, david. >> all right, rachel, thank you. >>> and of course, rachel and our team will be with me tomorrow. abc news live coverage of the january 6th committee hearing begins at 1:00 p.m. eastern. >>> we turn to major developments in the war in ukraine. late today, the white house now warning it believes iran is now getting ready to help russia. what iran is expected to send to help the russians fight the ukrainians. meantime, the images tonight. the civilian death toll rising from russia's missile strikes on that massive parm building in the east. and tonight, the story of the survivor pulled out after more than 30 hours in that rubble. our foreign correspon

will it be, stephen ayers, saint donald trump told me to go there?trump was the one that called me to action? hope this differently, we have seen some court filings from the people that were at the capitol, the rioters, their defense was , they were told to be there by the president of the united states. in the videos that day, you heard people say, we were invited here by the president. what you think of that? >> now we are finding, in many cases, they are still being penalized. they are getting present time, and probation. it is not working for them. the overall aspect of this, the importance is to show that people were responding to the commander in chief, calling them to do something unlawful. now we see the commander in chief, through the witnesses testimony, that he had no intention of doing anything lawful. he was trying to win at all costs. they were duped. it is a counter radicalization process, to show people like the potential proud voice members, this is a house of cards. you have been duped. you are believing a lie. as part of the value.

lawmakers are expected to call stephen ayers, and ohio men who pled guilty to his role in the attack. he posted on social media accusing president biden and democrats of treason and warning of a coming civil war. today's testimony coming after an about-face from steve bannon the conservative firebrand and onetime trump strategist who said he would speak to the committee on the eve of his criminal trial for ignoring a congressional subpoena. he previously refused to cooperate citing executive privilege despite leaving his trump white house job in 2017. >> if they just revolve resolve the issue that he feels. jay: the judge disagreed saying that the presidential power to withhold information does not cover a governmental official that works for a former president. the federal prosecutors wrote " the only thing that changed is that bannon is about to face the consequences of his decision." the january 6 committee spent eight hours interviewing a formal trump official. his testimony could be played in today's hearing or the following hearing which is being planned to hell -- to be held ne

stephen ayers. mr. tavenhold is an artist, journalist and a spoker keeper of the oath keepers. he has been charged with sadicoius conspiracy in relation to the capitol attack. he broke with the oath keepers and has since spoken out against the violent group. mr. ayers is a former supporter of president trump. he answered the president's call to come to washington d.c. on january 6. he marched to the capitol on the president's orders. he pleaded guilty last month to disorderly and disrupt ty conduct at the capitol. mr. ayers, who is no longer supports president trump, came forward voluntarily to share his story as a warning. i will now swear in our witnesses. the witnesses will please stand and raise their right hand. do you swear or affirm under the penalty of perjury what you are about to testify is the truth, the whole truth so help you god? thank you. you may be seated. let the record reflect that the witnesses answered in the affirmative. i recognize myself for questions. today we discussed how president trump summoned an angry mob of supporters to washington d.c. many of w

he spoke with lawmakers behind closed doors on friday were also expected to hear from stephen ayers who pleaded guilty last month to disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building. he previously posted an image stating trump was, quote, calling on us to come back to washington on january 6th for a big protest. also testifying is an ally of oath keepers, leader stewart rhodes, political analyst michael yaki is joining us now with his take on these latest developments. michael, some of the tweets and the post from these trump supporters far right broadcasters. they were pretty shocking to see for me. i feel like if you weren't in those circles, you really kind of had no idea of the types of conversations that were going on about january 6 in the plans they had. what's been your reaction so far today? well, means no. thanks for inviting me. it's one thing to say. we work in the circles. there's nothing to say. >> those circles were invited to what's going on in the white house and use. and we saw today it's are the fruits of cassidy hutchinson testimony, which is that simple be

. >> speaking of stephen ayers air this isn't talking about donald trump. >> i was, you know pretty hard-coretwitter, instagram. i followed president trump on all the websites. i was hanging on every word he was saying. everything he was putting out i was following. if i was doing it, hundreds of thousands and millions of other people were doing it, or maybe still doing it. >> multiple -- >> yes we've heard this over and over again. amen our colleague who did a story about the woman who died on the steps. this woman was just radicalized by the internet and she just had time in her hands. i'm not saying is no malice not person seoul but it was activated by what was happening in the two or three weeks before january six. there's no way donald trump didn't know this. we have to keep saying this. he brought in the five people in the world who thought this was actually happening. that thermostats were rigging the election. you don't happen upon these people. you find those people, because those are the people who are loudest in social media were given you an excuse to go through the sort of thing.

stephen ayers says he and others were motivated by the former president's instructions that got everybody what everybody had gone down. so we basically just following what he said and keeper jason van tate and hoaxes january 6th have the potential to be even worse. this could have been the spark that started a new civil war in washington. i'm hannah brandt. and still ahead, there he is. >> all looking good. get ready for the weekend. yeah, we've got some changes coming our way. maybe a little flooding in the bay area tonight. we'll talk about that coming up next. >> you said several times used a phrase. i want to make sure i understand what you mean by that. you referred to people with a capacity for pregnancy. with every women. >> many women cis women have the capacity for pregnancy. many fits women do not have the capacity for pregnancy. they're also trans men who are capable of pregnancy, as well as non-binary people who are capable of pregnancy. so this isn't really a women's rights issue. it's a we recognize that this impacts women while also recognizing that it impacts of crips. tho

among those testifying today, stephen ayers, who was one of the rioters, also testifying, former spokesperson for the oath keepers. >> i think we saw glimpse of what the vision of the oath keepers is. it includes violence. it includes trying to get their way through lies or deceit within actually plan to go down there. >> basically to see the stop, the steal rally and that was it. >> so why did you decide to march to the capitol? >> well, you know, the president. yeah. got everybody roundup. what everybody had gone down. so we basically just following what he said. >> so state university political science professor david mcewan, talk to us earlier. he said the biggest takeaway from today's hearing is that the january 6 panel provided more evidence of former president trump's associates ties to extremist groups. but the committee also set up a bigger plan for the next hearing. >> i think today much more was about that radicalization. but setting up next week, you also have a surprise witness next week and on in washington, d.c., teaching a class here right now, the rumor on the hill as after n

stephen ayers says he and others were motivated by the former president's instructions. got everybody roundup. >> what everybody had gone down. >> so we basically just following what he said and keeper jason van tate and hopes is january 6th have the potential to be even worse. this could have been the spark that started a new civil war in washington. i'm hannah brandt. >> its official twitter is now suing elon musk to try to force him to buy the social media company for 44 billion dollars as he had planned. the on musk announced friday he's backing out of the deal saying it was in breach of the contract by not disclosing just how many spam bots are on the platform yesterday. twitter promised to respond. and in a lawsuit filed today, the company is asking the court to force musk to carry out the merger. he agreed to the case will be heard in a delaware court which special specializes in corporate disputes with no jury involved. twitter is asking the court for an expedited trial in september. musk has not publicly responded to the lawsuit. the sizzling east bay housing ma

stephen ayers says he and others were motivated by the former president's instructions. got everybody roundup. >> what everybody had gone down. so we basically just following what he said and former oath keeper jason van tate and hopes is january 6th have the potential to be even worse. this could have been the spark that started a new civil war in washington. i'm hannah brandt. we're going to have a deeper analysis of today's hearing coming up at 3.30, today with our political expert from sonoma state professor david mcewan. be sure to stick with us. >> for that, we are continuing to monitor the wildfire inside yosemite national park at this hour. it's threatening ancient giant sequoia trees. the washburn fire now torched more than 3200 acres. it is just 22% contained, which is less than it was yesterday at this hour. it grew a little bit yesterday fueled by hot, dry weather. smoke pouring out of the national park, reaching up to the bay area prompted air quality advisories. the flames are inching dangerously close to an iconic grove of sequoias. fortunately ecologist b

we heard from one last week, stephen ayers. let let's hear what he had to say about the 4:17 message from the president and what the rioters reacted to the president's message in reement. >> when we were there, everybody started talking about it and it seemed like it started to disperse you know some of the crowd. >> delivering the president's message. donald trump has asked everyone to go home. >> that's ordered. >> go home. he says go home! >> we're here. >> he says for us to go home. >> but just as mr. ayers said, police were still spending off the last throes of the brutal assault. i yield to the gentleman from illinois. >> while everyone else was working to get congress back in session, what did president trump do? at 6:01 just after the citywide curfew went into effect, he posted his last tweet of the day. after officers engaged in hand to hand combat with over 100 of them sustaining injuries, president trump tweeted at 6:01 and justified the violence as a natural response to the election. he said, quote, these are the th

stephen ayres and jason. i believe that is mr. ayers on the left. it's an opposite angle now from the back. mr.ating because he appears to be unaffiliated. he wasn't a part of the proud boys or the old keepers. he came, he says, because donald trump invited him and told him to come. and my understanding is his testimony will include that it has ruined his life and that he was fooled and duped. but not by anyone else. i donald trump. he lays it at donald trump's feet. the other witness was, i believe, a spokesman. >> self described person who split with the group five years ago. >> my understanding is in his testimony he was not at january 6 but he will give an inside account of how they work, what they think and that they are violent. >> carrie, jason's testimony, i suspect will be about the degree to which the old keepers, and groups like it, pose a threat to the u.s.. >> we will see if he gets in. he will provide a broader context. he has not been affiliated with the group for a number of years now. if the committee is really trying to connect the mobilization of these violent groups which re