I'm writing a biography of Cicero for school. Now I know Wikipedia is unreliable, but I like using it for some background reading to get a general idea. My main sources are Plutarch and Suetonius.
On Cicero's Wikipedia page it says that Brutus "called out Cicero's name, asking him to restore the republic when he lifted his bloodstained dagger after the assassination." The page cites Cicero's "Second Phillippic Against Antony", where Cicero states that Mark Antony accused Cicero of being part of the conspiracy and had told the story of Brutus calling Cicero's name. Cicero never actually says whether the story is true or whether Antony fabricated it.
Neither Plutarch or Suetonius record Brutus doing this, and since the cited speech is unclear I am unsure whether or not to believe it happened. Has anyone got any insight on this?
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I just reread the Cicero passage. I think it's clear that Cicero accepts the story as true. He feels no need to deny the story, and points out that it is to his credit rather than detriment, and when Antony used that claim as evidence that Cicero was in on the conspiracy, he doesn't deny the claim but offers another interpretation.
I note that while Appian doesn't mention Cicero specifically, he does have the assassins running around the forum with their bloody weapons shouting about restoring the Republic.
Dio dies mention them calling for Cicero specifically.
Cicero doesn't deny the claim, and neither does any other source, and Dio at least accepts it. I don't see a good reason to reject the claim.