Donald Trump’s son sent the White House chief-of-staff frantic texts calling for his father to intervene during the Capitol riot on 6 January.
A committee investigating the violence was shown messages from Donald Trump Jr to Mark Meadows, saying the deadly riot had “gotten out of hand”.
He was one of several senior political and media figures who texted Mr Meadows with their concerns. The president was criticised for not intervening early on in the riot.
He did eventually urge his supporters to “go home”, but not before the pro-Trump mob had stormed the Capitol building, where Congress were meeting to certify Joe Biden’s presidential election win.
In the newly-revealed messages to Mr Meadows, Mr Trump Jr used strong terms to suggest his father should act.
“He’s got to condemn this shit ASAP,” the younger Trump wrote, according to US lawmaker Liz Cheney, vice-chair of the committee investigating if the former president had foreknowledge of the riot.
The former president has repeatedly denied suggestions that he encouraged his supporters to act violently.
