Violence Comes to the Capitol

Boaz Fox ‘23

On Jan. 6, pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election, leading to five deaths. 
“We’re going to walk down… to the Capitol,” President Trump told the crowd. “We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”  
Before the riot, former President Donald Trump spoke to thousands in Washington D.C., calling for former Vice President Mike Pence to stop certification of electoral college ballots.

This comes after months of claiming the Democrats had stolen the election from him. The court system rejected dozens of his lawsuits alleging as such, and Trump believed that if he could stop the ceremonial process of certifying the electoral college votes, he could take back the election.
Shortly after Trump’s speech, at around 1 p.m., hundreds of angry Trump supporters broke through barriers and fought with police officers. They pushed through the line of police officers and, using lumber and riot shields to break glass, broke into the Capitol building. One person died after being trampled on the Capitol steps.
“I was deeply ashamed,” sophomore Daniel Shapiro said, describing how easily the police line was breached. 
Capitol Hill police officers evacuated the Senate floor, and congresspeople took cover in secure locations. One officer, Eugene Goodman, risked his life to lead a crowd of rioters away from former Vice President Pence, who was only 100 feet away at the time. 
“It was devastating to see such terror [coming] from within our own country,” sophomore Ava Hurwitz said. “I… couldn’t tear my eyes away.”
At around 2:45 p.m., one rioter attempted to climb through a broken window into the Speaker’s Lobby, a hallway near the House Chamber, but was shot and later died of her injuries. Two more rioters later died from medical emergencies.  
Many rioters were confused as to why the police were not helping them. 
“I made it like a foot inside [the Capitol building] and they pushed me out and they maced me,” one surprised rioter said.
The mob, originally pro-police, quickly turned on law enforcement.
“They were screaming out, “Kill him with his own gun,” one police officer recalled in an interview with CNN.
Many officers were severely injured after being beaten by the mob. One officer died after being beaten with a fire extinguisher by rioters, many of whom were waving Blue Lives Matter flags. After clearing the Senate floor of rioters, it took two more hours until police could secure the Capitol. 
This shocking insurrection was the first time the Capitol was overrun since 1814 when British soldiers burned the building in the War of 1812. 
“It goes against our core values as Americans,” history teacher and department chair Mrs. Smith said. “I was furious.”
In the aftermath following the riot, major conservative pundits, including President Trump, were removed from Facebook and Twitter for violating their terms of service. In addition, Parler, a social media site used by conservatives, many of whom planned the insurrection on the site, was removed from Apple, Amazon and Google.
Government agencies acted quickly too. The FBI arrested dozens of rioters, many identified using pictures that they posted to social media, and the House of Representatives quickly drew up articles of impeachment, formally accusing President Trump of inciting the riot.
    Many activists are calling out the police for their hypocritical lack of preparedness for the riot. When peaceful protestors gathered to protest police brutality in June, federal troops without badges or name tags stood on the Capitol steps, more than prepared for violence. And infamously, peaceful protesters were tear-gassed to clear a path for President Trump to take a picture at a church.
    As the smoke and tear gas clear from the Capitol, it is important to remember that the insurrection was not just a spur of the moment event. It was incited by many in power and they must “be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Mrs. Smith said.