Trump says Pence responsible for Jan. 6 Capitol riots

WASHINGTON

Former US President Donald Trump on Monday blamed former Vice President Mike Pence for the violence surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at Capitol Hill.

"Had he sent the votes back to the legislatures, they wouldn’t have had a problem with Jan. 6, so in many ways, you can blame him for Jan. 6," Trump told reporters en route to Iowa, according to The Washington Post.

On that day, Trump asked Pence to reject the electoral college votes in Congress, but Pence said he had no authority to do what the former president was asking him to do.

His remarks came in response to Pence, who reproached his one-time boss for wrongdoing, saying history will hold him "accountable" for the Capitol attacks.

"I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day. And I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable," Pence said Sunday.

Trump said if Pence had sent the results back to "Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, the states, I believe, number one, you would have had a different outcome.

"But I also believe you wouldn’t have had 'Jan. 6' as we call it," said Trump.

Trump has long denied the validity of the 2020 election, which he lost by some 7 million votes, claiming rampant fraud. But he has not put forth any evidence to substantiate his claims. His allegations were further rejected by his attorney general, William Barr.

Those allegations motivated droves of Trump's supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in an attempt to prevent lawmakers from carrying out their constitutionally mandated duty of certifying election results.

Several people died as a result of the violence on Jan. 6, and the Capitol itself was badly damaged. Four law enforcement officers died by suicide in the aftermath.

The attack marked the first time the Capitol had been occupied since British forces torched it during the War of 1812.