January 6: The Consequences of Misleading the People

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The Capitol building is hailed as the people’s house, and no group had taken over the building in 200 years until a group of American rioters stormed the building on January 6, 2021. (Photo used by permission of Martin Falbisoner)

President Donald J. Trump and Congressional Republicans continue the fruitless crusade of voter fraud with no proof, and these outrageous claims hit a breaking point on January 6, 2021.

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri announced on December 30 that he would object to the certification of the election in some states, due to unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.

Three days later, 11 senators led by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas announced on Twitter  that they would be objecting the certification of various states too. Many other senators joined in with his objection.

There is one reason why Trump and Congressional Republicans actions are as severe as some Americans interpret them to be. 

Trump and Congressional Republicans are tearing at the seams of our Republic and more sowing distrust in our government and putting anarchy in our lives.

And it did.

January 6, 2021

On January 6, Congress was supposed to come together and count electoral college votes, confirm the results, and the Vice President announces who won and approves the votes. 

Usually, nobody pays attention to this event, but Trump supporters shone a horrible light on that day.

On December 20, Trump tweeted that it is “statistically impossible” that he lost the election. “Big protest in DC on January 6th,” Trump typed. “Be there, will be wild!”

So, some of his supporters did come. Tens of thousands gathered on the National Mall in the early hours of the 6, marching towards the Capitol where Congress was to count and confirm the votes. 

Even though DC has known since December 20, that at least a small portion of Trump’s supporters would gather, they were woefully unequipped for what happened next, due to their lack of resources to handle a riot on hand.

At 2:30 p.m., tens of thousands of rioters in support of Donald Trump, angry over the alleged “steal” of the election, stormed the Capitol. 

The Capitol has not been seized like this since 1814 during the War of 1812. The British seized the U.S. Capitol and intended to burn down the whole building but could only manage to burn the southern wing.

Vice President Mike Pence and Congressmen and women had to evacuate or shelter in place as rioters ran through the halls, storming into offices, taking selfies with police officers, flying the Confederate flag, Blue Lives Matter flags, and more. 

Rioters also used outside window wipers to get to higher floors, broke through the glass windows, and even fought police officers while holding Blue Lives Matter flags.

Sadly, the riot turned violent with a woman dying from a shot in the chest in the Capitol and four others of different circumstances. 

In the beginning, the only police there to stop the tens of thousands of rioters were Capitol police or DC police. When the mayor of DC asked the Pentagon to deploy the National Guard, the Pentagon declined

As the country watched and congresspeople were trapped in the Capitol surrounded by rioters many of whom were armed, the Pentagon still declined to help.

Later, Vice President Pence convinced the Pentagon to deploy the National Guard, and later Virginia deployed their own National Guard to help.

At 3:30 p.m. the Senate floor was cleared of rioters, and at 5:40 p.m. the police secured the building.

Congress did not let the rioters scare them into not certifying the election, and they continued the process at 7:00 p.m.

The certification process went until 3:00 a.m. after the senators and representatives who vowed to object to three states did so, but some backed out at the last minute. 

Congress rejected all the challenges into the states brought in question by several congresspeople. Vice President Pence certified Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the President-Elect. 

Reactions and Consequences of the Riot

Many congresspeople and citizens on both sides of the aisle were very upset about the actions of the rioters. 

Republican Representative Liz Cheney voiced her distress on Twitter. “We just had a violent mob assault the Capitol in an attempt to prevent those from carrying out our Constitutional duty,” Cheney typed. “There is no question that the President formed the mob, incited the mob.”

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted that the rioters are rioters, insurrectionists, thugs, and domestic terrorists. “They don’t represent America,” Schumer typed. 

People were wondering how the Capitol was so easily penetrated

Another concern among citizens was how the police treated the rioters. 

During the Black Lives Matter Protests during spring and summer 2020, some thought the protesters were met with an unreasonable amount of force like rubber bullets, tear gas, and more when they were peacefully protesting. 

That was noticeably missed during this ordeal and many were wondering if the riot would’ve been different if it were a Black Lives Matter protest storming the Capitol. 

Our allies and other countries around the world were looking at us in shock. 

The Republic of Turkey made a press release during the riot. “We call on all parties in the U.S. to maintain restraint and prudence,” the account typed. “We believe the U.S. will overcome this internal political crisis in a mature manner.” 

The Prime Minister of Britain Boris Johnson called the riot disgraceful. “The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power,” Johnson typed.

Donald Trump reportedly refused for hours to make a statement to his supporters, and when he did, he didn’t reprimand them the way his advisors wanted him to.

The video was taken down by Twitter after being flagged for violating its Twitter Rules. 

The next day on January 7, Trump released a video on Twitter acknowledging a new administration, condemning the violence, but ignoring the part he played in it. 

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1347334804052844550?s=21

This dangerous event shows that these false claims of voter fraud incites violence and danger to our most important people in the country. 

Trump and his Republican colleagues invited violence into their workspace, one of the places where some of the most important events in our history have passed. 

The consequences of the riot seemed to be rearing its head because there were “whispers” in the White House and public outcries from Congress of invoking the 25 Amendment, which removes the sitting president if they are deemed inept to serve. 

Reports on January 7 say that the Vice President does not want to invoke the 25 Amendment.

Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she and the House would be moving forward with impeachment and possible removal of the President if the Vice President did not want to invoke the 25 Amendment.

Many people in the White House have resigned from their positions like Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation, and Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education. Both of whom are in the President’s Cabinet. 

Even though the President is only in office for less than two more weeks, some people are at their breaking point, and may leave serious consequences for him for his last two weeks and beyond. 

 

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