January 7th, 2021 is a day that will go down in the history books. It began with the historic Democratic victories of Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock—the first Jewish Senator and the first Black Senator from Georgia, respectively, to be elected to Congress—and ended with the desecration of democratic institutions when “protesters” stormed the Capitol building, making their dissent of the official 2020 General Election results known. Their terrifying, violent actions sent waves of shock and horror booming throughout the country, forever leaving a stain on America’s history of democracy.

According to the Wall Street Journal, before members of the Senate were forced to barricade themselves and go into lockdown due to the pro-Trump rioters, they were gathering to certifying the presidential election results and ratifying the electoral votes. The procedure of counting votes and reaching a conclusion was abruptly interrupted by a pro-Trump angry mob that breached and occupied the Capitol building, in an aim to disrupt the final count of the electoral votes and display violence towards what they perceived to be an unjust and invalid election. Many believe that President Trump instigated the attack on the Capitol, due to how he continuously would spark the flames of his supporters’ fury with false claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” and then later stating to his supporters: “we will never concede.” He fondly referred to the rioters as “special people” told them “we love you.” His remarks towards the breach spiraled so far out of control that both social media platforms Trump avidly uses, Twitter and Facebook, temporarily suspended his official account as a result. 

Finally, the siege against the Capitol came to an end when Vice President Mike Pence defied President Trump by ordering the National Guard to step in right as the violence reached a turning point when 4 deaths reportedly resulted from the riot. President-elect Joe Biden spoke out about the siege against the Capitol, referring to the so-called protesters as “domestic terrorists.”

Critics have mainly taken issue with the police’s unassertive response to the terrorists, such as some of the police displaying their support by taking selfies with the rioters and appearing to let the rioters inside. 

Many have also pointed out the differences in the police response towards the terrorists that stormed the Capitol and the peaceful protests during the BLM protests for George Floyd. Despite the fact that the terrorists who stormed the Capitol brought “chemical irritants” (as reported by the police chief of Washington D.C) to break in, had a shoot off with the police, brought “explosive devices”, were actively looting, rioting, and roaming freely within the Capitol, the harrowing situation was mostly deescalated by tear gas in comparison to the rubber bullets (which, according to BLM activist Alderman Ashanti Hamilton, are the modern day replacement for German shepherds and water hoses used against demonstrators amid the Civil Rights Movement) used at BLM protests.

The Congresswomen and men who were forced to barricade the doors where they gathered had to get down on the ground due to the shootoff, and were eventually evacuated through tunnels due to the violent circumstances. Representative Jason Crow, D-Colorado, spoke out about the terrifying ordeal and said that “we [Crow and his fellow Representatives] thought we’d have to fight our way out [of the building].”

The actions of the terrorists invoked revulsion within many due to how the Confederate flag was proudly waved around within the Capitol building, the first time it has ever been done in American history. It is well known that the Confederate flag stands for white supremacy and the social and political oppression of people of color. Many deplorable acts have been carried out in the now defunct Confederacy’s name, and the Confederate flag is currently regarded as a symbol of treason, since the Confederacy was originally formed to break away from the Union (which is now the United States of America). 

Several world leaders have spoken out against the riots, notably President Trump’s fellow world leaders and close companions Emanuel Macron (President of France) describing the situation as “not America” and Boris Johnson (Prime Minister of the UK) condemning the behavior of the rioters and calling it “disgraceful.”

Now, there are talks of the 25th Amendment being invoked to remove President Trump from office due to his lack of action in response to the riot.

An Overview of the 25th Amendment by Zaynab Rehman

Many citizens have voiced their displeasure with the President through social media, stating that invoking the 25th amendment isn’t nearly as effective a response to what historically fits the bill for a coup and usurpation of power. With the hashtag #ImpeachTrumpNow trending on Twitter, it’s evident that American people are thoroughly exhausted yet are ready for a new dawn, no matter the path that potentially impeaching Trump will lead to.