Pictured Above: Rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building in an effort to halt the electoral vote count in Congress and overturn the presidential election results.
Courtesy of Diliff on Wikimedia Commons
By Michael Alden
As the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden approaches, the storming of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 remains prominent in the minds of many.
A memo was sent by the FBI to law enforcement agencies across the country on Jan. 11 warning of armed protests at all 50 state capitols and the Capitol Building leading up to the inauguration on Wednesday.
In response to the attempted insurrection, up to 25,000 National Guard members are expected to be on the ground in Washington, D.C. for Biden’s inauguration — more troops than the U.S. has in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
News of the Jan. 6 riot reverberated all the way to USF campuses.
For one USF student, the event is still fresh in her mind.
“I’m honestly kind of still processing it,” said Candice Lovelace, a junior mass communications major. “I’m completely shocked and can’t even believe that it happened.”
The rioters stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop the electoral vote count in Congress and overturn the presidential election results.
Thousands of protestors marched down Pennsylvania Avenue from the “Save America” rally to the front steps of the Capitol Building after the president directed them to do so during his speech.
Many of his supporters, without evidence, have echoed his claims since Election Day that the election was “stolen” from him.
The Trump administration’s own election security officials have stated “the November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.”
While the president spoke, members of Congress, including Vice President Mike Pence, had entered into a joint session of congress to count the Electoral College votes and certify President-Elect Joe Biden’s win.
Upon arriving at the Capitol, protestors turned violent and overwhelmed the Capitol Police. Rioters toppled barricades and fought with officers as they attempted to breach the building. Numerous rioters were able to walk through the doors, while others used ladders, scaled walls and climbed through windows.
Chemical agents, including tear gas, were used by police and rioters during the breach.
Some rioters were equipped with military gear, including helmets, vests and gas masks. Several were spotted with zip-tie handcuffs.
Both chambers of Congress were evacuated during the riot. Lawmakers and staff sheltered in their offices and barricaded the doors.
Soon after the evacuation, members of the mob made their way into the Senate chamber, where Air Force veteran and Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot by an officer. Five others died during the storming or soon after, including Officer Brian Sicknick, 42, of South River, N.J, who was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher by a rioter. Dozens of police officers were injured and 61 people involved in the day’s events were arrested.
Michael Stenger, the Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. Senate, announced that the building was secured around 5:40 p.m., after more than three hours of chaos. Stenger resigned from his role on Jan. 7 in light of criticism of the Capitol Police.
Congress reconvened later in the night to complete the electoral vote count. The vote was certified at 3:41 a.m. and confirmed Biden would become president on Jan. 20.
There has been extensive controversy surrounding the late deployment of the National Guard. Pence is said to have approved their deployment after Trump’s initial resistance.
Trump was mostly silent for several hours during the riot, except for a tweet at 2:47 p.m. that said “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
He eventually released a video statement at 4:22 p.m. asking for peace and urging his supporters to go home. In his statement, he told supporters still at the Capitol, “We love you. You’re very special.” The video was later removed by Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
Congressional members from both parties condemned the president’s conduct surrounding the events, with some claiming he incited an insurrection. Many Democrats called for his resignation, impeachment or removal via the 25th Amendment.
Two pipe bombs were found outside of the Republican National Committee’s office and the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters on the day of the riot. The FBI is still searching for the suspect after releasing a photo of the culprit and offering a $50,000 reward.
Casey Kiefer, a USF graduate student in the Digital Journalism & Design program, sees issues of racism and policing in the events that took place.
“This was a violent military display of white supremacy on our highest form of civilization that exhibited the fractured state of our policing system,” Kiefer said. “The hypocrisy is blatant where peaceful Black Lives Matter protestors face more violence from police than armed rioters storming the Capitol with our elected officials inside.”
Kiefer believes the storming of the Capitol was “an act of domestic terrorism against our democracy and should be treated as such.”
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin had a message for those who stormed the building: “You will be charged, and you will be found.”
Mark Griffin, an advertising major and junior at USF, wants every rioter to be held accountable.
“I hope that every rioter who stepped through the capitol buildings doors is tracked down and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Griffin said. “Absolutely nothing about what they did was patriotic.”
The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump on Jan. 13 for incitement of insurrection. The vote passed 232-197, with all 222 Democrats and 10 Republicans voting in favor of impeachment. He is the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.
The Senate is currently on recess and likely won’t begin its impeachment trial until after Trump leaves office.
