Days before the riot, President Trump had urged his supporters to rally at Washington D.C. to somehow stop the certification of the election results. President Trump had also planned a rally at the Capitol Lawn where he would be speaking to his supporters. During his speech, he calls for a march on the capitol by saying, “You have to show your strengths.”
On January 6th, protesters swarmed outside of the U.S Capitol, eventually breaching barriers and coming inside during an ongoing session of Congress. Some were very disrespectful, using criticizing words, smashing windows, and raiding offices in the building. Although not everyone took actions like these, this was not a peaceful, controlled protest as planned. In response to the actions of the crowd, law enforcements were calm, and it took more than four hours to control. Critics of this response said, “officers' relative calm was in stark contrast to how Black Lives Matter protesters were handled” (US News). Authorities seemed surprised by the amount of people in the insurrection and their actions. When law enforcement eventually gained control of the Capital, many just walked out leaving their mess and vandalization behind. There were a total of five deaths counted: a US Capitol police officer, a woman fatally shot, and three apparent medical emergencies that led to deaths. At this point in the election and politics, this country needs to come together.
Sources
Leatherby, Lauren, et al. “How a Presidential Rally Turned Into a Capitol Rampage.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/12/us/capitol-mob-timeline.html.
“The U.S. Capitol Riots and the Double Standard of Protest Policing.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/national- news/articles/2021-01-12/the-us-capitol-riots-and-the-double-standard-of-protest- policing.
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