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History was made on Wednesday, Jan 6th 2021, as one of the most important buildings in the United States was ravaged by a far-right mob, incited by the sitting president.
Thousands of Pro-Trump Rioters, disputing his election loss to Biden, stormed the Capitol Building after reportedly being urged by President Trump. Police were ill-prepared and the rioters were able to breach the Senate Chamber, erect a gallows on the grounds, assault press and murder a police officer, all the while seeking to track down the Vice President and several other members of Congress. According to The New York Times, five people died during the riot. One was shot while attempting to breach the House floor and a police officer, Brian D. Sicknick, was beaten to death by the crowd. According to the Wall Street Journal and NPR, far-right groups had planned out this terror attack for months beforehand.
It took Capitol Police, FBI, the local police department, and eventually The National Guard three hours to finally remove every rioter from the building, at which point irreversible damage had already been done. Several explosive devices, rigged to cause serious harm, were discovered and removed. The building itself was severely damaged, with art either looted or defaced, offices completely ransacked and sensitive information stolen.
The result of this historic day was Trump’s Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and several other social media accounts being suspended due to incitement of violence. There was also movement towards a second impeachment, a first in US history, which, as of Wednesday Jan 13, has gone through with a House vote of 232-197. According to The Guardian, the FBI is warning all 50-states for potential uprisings around capitol buildings in the week leading up to President-Elect Biden’s inauguration.
Although the far-right groups were unsuccessful in their siege of the Capitol, they were able to cause a shake in the very democracy in this country. The world will be watching the Capitol with bated breath even after Biden and Harris have been sworn in.
