On January 6, rallies that opposed the election results were held in Washington D.C., before the Senate met to certify the inauguration of Joe Biden. Opposing the results himself, President Trump urged the crowd to “show their strength” by marching to the Capitol.

The crowd gathered around the perimeter of the Capitol building, as they grew agitated. At about 12:53 PM, members of the crowd began to get physical with the guards and the crowd began to riot.

By 2:00 PM they were nearing the doors to the building and by 2:10, the mob reached the doors. There are videos of broken windows, police officers being chased and the esteemed Capitol building being defamed, which is extremely difficult to watch for anyone apart of our nation. This riot is difficult to comprehend and scary for the safety of our democracy.

Bulleted timeline of events:

• The Morning of January 6, there was a “Save America” Trump rally occurring in Washington D.C.; Trump is scheduled to soon speak at the White House. Present were supporters and far-right extremists, such as the Proud Boys.
• At 12:51 PM Mike Pence was escorted out of the Senate, receiving criticism from Trump, via twitter.
• At 12:53 PM, people begin to start physical fights with the Capitol officers and breach the building’s perimeter.
• After a few hours of violent clashing, rioters broke into the building at 2:16 PM. 
• At 2:04 PM a woman is shot and later is pronounced dead.
• At 4 PM Trump released an extremely controversial video on Twitter, calling for peace, telling supporters, “We had an election that was stolen from us… But you have to go home now. We have to have law and order.”
• At 12 AM the Metropolitan Police Department Chief announced that four people died and fifty-two people had been arrested.

The riots that occurred January 6 scared America, and Congressional members from both parties denounced the rioters and made it clear that this behavior is unacceptable and should not be tolerated in any form. Hopefully this is not a sign of the future and most Americans are just hoping for a return to normalcy.

Image courtesy of unsplash.com.

Facts courtesy of nytimes.com.