Congressional sessions meant to finalize the 2020 presidential election winner were abruptly interrupted on Jan. 6 as Trump supporters crowded, infiltrated and spread mayhem at Capitol Hill.
Jan. 6 is ordinarily a day when members of Congress come together to certify the presidential election results. During this process, mahogany boxes are brought in that contain electoral votes. The Senate and House of Representatives proceed to read the results, iron out any disagreements over which candidate won a state if need be, and then have the Vice President announce the next President of the United States. This constitutionally mandated process occurs every four years, ever since President George Washington set the precedent of having a peaceful passing of power. At least that’s how it was until now.
Both chambers went into the day aware that the ordinarily smooth process would boil down into heated arguments. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas was poised to dispute President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s win in Arizona. Cruz, a long-time Trump supporter, also backed the incumbent president on his lawsuit efforts to overthrow the election. However, he wasn’t the only one with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga. included in the long list of twelve Republicans planning to object to the election results.
The first shock of the day, however, came from House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He was expected to take a stance against efforts to overturn the election, which he did. He expressed that refusing to certify Biden’s win would destroy America’s republic in no uncertain terms.
“The voters, the courts, and the states have all spoken,” McConnell said in the Senate. “If we overrule them all, it would damage our republic forever. … If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral. We’d never see the whole nation accept an election again,” he added.
The surprise came from his upfront confidence while discussing an atmosphere of disillusionment swept across the nation. He spoke with an emboldened tone of patriotism.
“We cannot keep drifting apart into two separate tribes… with separate facts, and separate realities … with nothing in common except hostility toward each other and mistrust for the few national institutions that we still share,” he said. “It would be unfair and wrong to disenfranchise American voters and overrule the courts and the states on this thin basis. And I will not pretend such a vote would be a harmless protest gesture while relying on others to do the right thing,” McConnell remarked.
Following that, Cruz took the opposite approach. He suggested that instead of confirming Biden’s election, the chambers should hold an emergency 10-day audit during which an electoral commission would meet and decide on the outcome. He stated,” I would urge that we follow the precedent of 1877.”
Immediately, Sen. Amy Klobuchar,D-MN who notably ran as a Democratic candidate in 2020, pointed out his argument’s flaws. She made the point that Cruz had not called for audits of any other race during election season. Considering he questioned Biden’s win’s integrity, she expressed the hypocrisy of him not disputing Republicans wins like in the House of Representatives or Senate.
“I did not see Senator Cruz over at the swearing in at the House of Representatives last Sunday asking for an audit,” she said. “He did not stop their swearing in because there was no fraud,” Klobuchar said.
About ten minutes later after GOP Sen. Toomey, R-PA delivered his own speech agreeing with Klobuchar, the focus shifted to a more pressing issue: troves of Trump supporters crowding around the Capitol Building.
These rioters managed to charge through barricades, making their way not only up the stairs of the building not open to the general public but also entered the building itself. While predominantly white groups outside chanted “USA” or carried signs saying “Jesus 2020,” others made their way to the Senate and House of Representatives’ floors.
As they broke windows, wielded weapons and scaled the building, the public saw little police intervention. Men, women and children alike wore MAGA hats and red sweatshirts waved Trump and American flags, and jostled camerapeople and reporters.
Worst of all, they carried a symbol of divisiveness and pain in United States history: the Confederate flag.
The Congressional sessions paused once the Trump supporters’ numbers were uncontrollable. “You could hear a pounding on the doors on the outside,” Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) described. “At that point they had us get our gas masks out.” They were advised to hide under their chairs.
The protests dissolved into incoherent and disrespectful acts. Rioters entered Senators’ offices, vandalized property, rummaged through papers, looting, and even putting their shoes up on desks, as done in Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s office. As the New York Post ironically pointed out, “Capitol Hill police had to plead with demonstrators not to rifle through senators’ belongings as they posed for selfies.”
Those familiar with United States history would realize the gravity of this insurrection, as the last time the Capitol faced this situation was during the War of 1812. It is noteworthy that the protests were allowed to get to that caliber due to a lack of police presence.
Considering how rapidly the National Guard and officers were dispatched to handle Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, it was shocking to find their hours-long delay in coming to the Capitol Building to defend Congressmen only doing their constitutionally obligated duty.
Though the protests began at about 2 p.m. with thousands of rioters, around 5 p.m. officers confiscated “five guns and arrested at least 13 people during the violent protests involving supporters of President Trump at the Capitol on Wednesday,” Chief Robert J. Contee of the D.C. said.
The images of brawling officers and rioters on television screens were only made worse by headlines stating that officers desperately needed more law enforcement support. With every bit of pepper spray used, with every gun brandished, one would grow more disappointed and alarmed from the actions they saw when they remembered its root: the President of the United States’ speech on Monday.
Many Congressmen, political experts and media outlets find Trump’s speech to be the root of the protests on Jan. 6. His followers organized amongst themselves at the Capitol Building because of his inflammatory rhetoric and continuous spread of false information. As hours of violence and unrest ensued, Trump remained silent, with just a few tweets that did not affect.
Not until President-elect Biden came on live television from his home in Delaware and called on Trump for action, did Trump deliver his own brief speech. While Biden issued the first and only apology of the day, Trump further inflamed his supporters, telling them “we love you”, “you’re very special,” and once more stating that he won a landslide election, which is simply false.
If this protest had been done by another group, Muslims instead of Christians and people of color instead of mostly white supporters, then the situation would have been taken more seriously or turned more deadly.
Instead of taking selfies, police officers would likely have acted more like they did during the months of the Black Lives Matter protests. Thus, Wednesday’s events indicate a divide in the nation.
A divide in political ideologies. A divide in the treatment of citizens by law enforcement. A double standard that people agree was nurtured and grown by President Trump.
Former President Barack Obama expressed this sentiment. “History will rightly remember today’s violence at the Capitol, incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election, as a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation. But we’d be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise.”
On Jan. 6, 2021, the world watched as the United States almost lost itself in flames fanned within itself. The great American world power found itself unable to quell protests encouraged by its own Chief Executive. Attacks against the law-making body, attacks against fellow Americans simply fulfilling their elected duties. It is not difficult to see why Obama viewed Jan. 6 with disappointment.
The consequences of the day only continue to grow even after the crowds dispersed around 6 p.m., following the 6 p.m. curfew instated in D.C. At that point in the day, a woman shot within the building was pronounced dead.
As the House and Senate sessions resumed, their opening speeches incorporated elements of reflecting how the events contradicted the ideals of American democracy.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a vocal proponent of Trump throughout his presidency, took a stance against the riots and Trump’s actions. It was clear that the traumatic events of the day changed his usual pro-Trump tune.
“All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough,” Graham said quickly, words appearing to spill out from his mouth tinged with exasperation and defeat.
“Final thing: Joe Biden. I’ve traveled the world with Joe. I hoped he’d lose. I prayed he would lose. He won. He is the legitimate president of the United States. I cannot convince people, certain groups, by my words, but I will tell you by my actions, that maybe I — among, above all others in this body — need to say this: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected and will become the president and the vice president of the United States on Jan. 20,” he said.
The Senate floor broke out into applause.
The twelve members of the House and Senate who were poised to dispute the election suddenly withdrew their disapproval, all except two: Cruz and Hawley.
Despite the horrific scene that took over the day and endangered not only the people inside the Capitol Building but the United States’ democracy as well, both Senators defended their belief of recounting votes and examining fraud in the election. Inside, their colleagues quickly shut down their baseless claims and falsehoods. For Arizona, the Senate ultimately did not vote to have the electoral commission Cruz had asked for or to reexamine the state’s election procedures, with a 93 to 6 vote.
At 3:45 a.m., Vice President Mike Pence certified Biden as the next President of the United States, and Kamala Harris as the next Vice President. While the previous day had been one wrought with fear and insurrection, Thursday began with applause breaking out from the tired Congressmen.
The saga concludes then with a victory, with the United States democratic republic still intact. However, there are still questions that need answers.
As many have noted across social media and in media networks, it should not have been so easy to break into the Capitol Building, the home of the nation’s law-making. Videos show police moving barriers instead of fighting back, allowing the insurgents to enter. At home, people asked why there would not have been stronger security in place, security akin to the officers that had lined the building’s steps with guns during peaceful Black Lives Matter protests? Why did officers not act for hours, when in Portland they had attacked crowds, beaten people, and even kidnapped some when again, they had been peacefully protesting.
Yes, mace was used, but otherwise, officers were even seen taking selfies. Considering that government employees had left their computers open, their paperwork out in their private offices because they had to hide from domestic terrorists is no laughing or prideful. It is a matter of national security.
Hence, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, will lead her committee in investigating the police response.
Thus, why was President Trump reluctant to take action, refusing to send out a tweet earlier in the chaos that could have ended the debacle. Why did he not call on the National Guard to arrive, but Vice President Pence did?
While world leaders condemned the horrific scene, Trump sat in the White House alone, enjoying the sight of his name plastered across television screens and prolonging Biden’s win.
Now, his power has been stripped away, with his most vocal political supporters turning against him, Twitter and Facebook locking his accounts, and White House Staff announcing their resignations. Just as he spent Wednesday alone watching, he is alone in his defeat.
In a most pathetic manner, Trump had White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino tweet his statement: “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on Jan. 20. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
Even embarrassed on a national and international scale, even with people from the left and right calling for his resignation, Trump refuses to concede and further inflamed his base with lies. It truly is a sad thought that after all the damage he caused, the President of the United States’ concept of engaging a peaceful transition holds little comfort.
In the end, the protests were a complete and utter failure. Domestic terrorists paraded in a federal building, forcing fellow American citizens, human beings with families and health conditions themselves, to spend hours fearing for their lives.
Four people reportedly died on Jan. 6. There were 52 arrested. The FBI is now opening an investigation in regards to the riots and asking for public help to identify the rioters. These are not traits of a great America.
From bomb threats at the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention sites to Nazi salutes to a noose hanging on federal property, Jan. 6, 2021 will forever be remembered in history with disgust and sadness for the democratic republic.
Hence, it leaves America both shocked and wringing its hat as it waits to answer the question as to what is to be expected in the remaining days before Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20.