77 days: Trump’s campaign to undermine the election

“Hey, all happy warrior freedom fighters,” said Ms. Blackburn. “We are delighted that you are campaigning for the constitution, freedom and justice.”

The rally had been planned by Women for America First, which tacitly became what came closest to Mr. Trump becoming a political organizing force and rallying his aggrieved supporters behind the lie of a stolen election.

The group’s founder, Amy Kremer, was one of the original organizers of the Tea Party, which built the movement through cross-country bus tours. She had been among the earliest Trump supporters and had formed a group called Women vote for Trump along with Ann Stone, ex-wife of longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone.

Associated with donors including Trump-affiliated First guidelines for AmericaWomen for America First had rallied support for the Supreme Court appointment of Amy Coney Barrett and defended Mr. Trump during his first impeachment.

The group’s managing director was Mrs. Kremer’s daughter Kylie Jane Kremer, who recently worked on Sean Hannity’s radio show. Two organizers, Jennifer Lawrence and Dustin Stockton, were close to Mr. Bannon after working at Breitbart and then his nonprofit to raise private funding to complete Mr. Trump’s border wall. (In August, federal prosecutors accused Mr. Bannon of defrauding the charitable donors after an investigation that included a raid on Ms. Lawrence and Mr. Stockton’s RV. They were not involved, and Mr. Bannon, who was not guilty, was confessed, it was later pardoned by the President.)

According to his LinkedIn page, Mr. Stockton was a former organizer for America’s die-hard gun owners and had met members of the three percent militia group. He had an online newsletter, Tyrant’s Curse, whose credo was: “A well-armed and self-reliant population that takes personal responsibility and trusts in God can never be suppressed and will never be governed.” One post included a photo from the December 12 rally – Mr. Stockton posed with several three Percenter brothers in military body armor.

Ms. Lawrence had personal relationships with Mr. Trump. Her father was a real estate agent in the Hudson Valley, where Mr. Trump owns a golf club and his sons run a hunting farm. “He’s been in business with Mr. Trump for over a decade, so I’ve had the opportunity to meet the president and interact with him on many occasions,” she said in an interview. She also knows Mr. Flynn through her mutual association with a conservative think tank, she said.