Chaos in the Capitol

Chaos in the Capitol

Nine minutes, nineteen seconds.

That is how long Congress lasted in a joint session on January 6th to certify President-Elect Joe Biden's electoral college votes. That is how long a sense of normalcy lasted in the nation.

Not long after, we saw the Capitol Police force overran, invaders in the Capitol building, and our elected officials on the ground fearing for their lives. This is what we expect in foreign nations during a coup d’etat. As the smoke settled, we as a nation had to ask ourselves, “How could this happen?”

Let us return to November 5th, as the last mail-in ballots were being counted. In key states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, incumbent president Donald J. Trump’s lead was undone, securing victory for Democratic challenger Joe Biden. On media apps such as Facebook, Twitter, and the infamous Parler, thousands of Trump voters colluded together and hatched a plot to “Stop the Steal.”

According to them, the Democrats had cheated in the election in order to secure Biden’s victory, and following their twisted doctrine of using so called “alternatives facts” to help support their world views, dismissed the sweeping victories of many Republicans in lower levels of administration. With the help of the insidious QAnon conspiracy theory, a devoted and fanatical faction of Trump hardliners assembled to do whatever they could to ensure their leader’s power.

Time passed and most of us forgot about the tension of the election, but these people could never forget the humiliating defeat of their “silent majority” that was supposed to come out and defeat Biden. Despite each of Trump’s lawsuits being defeated one by one, they could not accept defeat by any means. They grew to believe that the justice system itself was securely held by the “deep state,” and this cemented their belief in the QAnon narrative of us versus them.

They planned to “Stop the Steal” with violence as necessary as members of the messaging app, Parler, began sharing and devising plans to storm the Capitol building and demand an overturn of what they saw as a corrupt and unjust election, despite there being no evidence to support this besides shady anecdotal accounts and grainy footage. Some individuals began preparing for what they saw as a civil war against the “Communist Democrats,” who they believed would shape our government to emulate the People’s Republic of China.

Early in January, posts about a plot on January 6th began surfacing on media ranging from Tiktok to Twitter with many Trump supporter users hinting at something big happening. They attempted to rally support for their cause, though many people simply did not understand what they were hinting at or brushed off their concerns.

There were warning signs of what was to come, but we ignored them; we trusted them to trust the process, respect the Constitution, and accept the results. Judging by the events that transpired on the 6th, though, we were apparently very wrong to do so.

They did not trust the process due to the level of disenfranchisement they felt from Trump’s loss, and the misinformation parroted by heavily biased, pro-Trump outlets only worsened the situation.

They did not respect the Constitution as they railed for a reversal of one of its most critical processes, the fair and free election and the peaceful transition of power accompanying it.

They obviously did not respect the result as they shouted unfounded conspiracy theories regarding election fraud and threatened lawmakers who claimed otherwise, further eroding trust in the democratic process that many Americans hold so dear.

That is how this happened. We believed it couldn’t happen here until it did. Our government ignored the warning signs and reports that were piling up for months. Now we are left to pick up the pieces and figure out exactly what happened.

Nine minutes, nineteen seconds.

That is how long it took Congress to certify the votes of Alabama and Alaska. Coincidentally, that was how long it took for us to see what democracy in peril looks like.

Earlier in the morning, President Trump gave a rallying speech in front of the White House. He encouraged his supporters to go to the Capitol saying, “We’re gonna walk down to the Capitol, and I'll be there with you.” He added, saying, “You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength.”

Strength is certainly one way to put it, as crowds formed outside the barricades prepared after the wake of the wave of wide scale protests last summer. A paradoxical scene played out as men in red caps boldly carrying Blue Lives Matters flags postured in front of Capitol Police, calling them traitors and threatening them. A crowd gathered outside chanted “Trump or war!” for approximately 45 minutes.

Within Congress, with the building slowly being surrounded, our representatives were being secured by police forces within the building.

At approximately 2:15 P.M., protestors managed to break through a large metal door and enter the Capitol building. The House and Senate doors were immediately locked. Senator James Lankford was speaking when the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Chuck Grassley, gaveled the Senate into emergency recess. Being a top-ranking government official, Senator Grassley was quickly rushed from the chamber by his protective detail, alongside Vice President Pence. Senator Lankford's mic was left on; as an aid ran to Senator Lankford, the mic caught him saying that, "The protestors are in the Capitol building."

Something different occurred on the House side of Congress; the House is gaveled out of session, but it doesn't leave the chamber. The members are told to shelter in place. I was shocked at the images I saw. Desks were upended and placed in front of the chamber door- the door the president walks through to address Congress, the door every member uses to enter the chamber, the door Vice President Pence had walked through at the beginning of the joint session.

Around the same time as the initial breach, some members of the Capitol Police were seen letting insurrectionists into the building. This event, as evidenced in video clips, is supposedly because the police feared the demonstrators to the point that they retreated from their post.

The journalist that shot this footage, Marcus Diapola, claimed that, “They definitely didn't just open the barriers. The pro-Trump rioters made a fist like they were going to punch the cops, which is why I started recording. Then (police) backed off the barricades.”

The lawmakers were not as generous in their interpretation of the events, later describing this debacle as a strategic and planning failure by all forces involved. Later on in the day, Capitol Police forces were filmed taking selfies with insurrectionists, something in extremely poor taste following what transpired that day.

At  2:47 P.M., the door to the House Chamber had the glass smashed out of it as people were attempting to enter the room. Panic filled the room as congressmen and women ducked for cover behind railings, while helping shocked members by pushing them to the ground away from danger. The D.C. Police confronted the invaders who were smashing and crashing through the chamber door with their weapons drawn.

About 20 minutes later, the Pro Trump forces broke into the Senate Gallery, some with intent to cause physical harm to high profile Democrats and Republicans alike. Finding the room abandoned, the rioters then began to rummage through senators' desks and loot through the trash.

A mere 10 minutes after this, members of Congress were told to don gas masks. Tear gas filled the Capitol Building as Capitol Police deployed it in an effort to disperse violent agitators from the building.

Moments after tear gas was used inside the Capitol building, President Trump tweeted, asking his supporters to remain peaceful.

During efforts to clear the building, the violence escalated; one woman in particular was shot in the neck by the police and subsequently died. As insurrectionists were driven from the building, casualties accumulated on both sides. This inclined the Department of Homeland Security to leverage any security or law enforcement office in the area against the increasingly dangerous rioters.

Around this time, a pipe bomb was located at the Republican National Convention building just across the street from the Capitol Building. The DNC building and all surrounding buildings were evaluated while the bomb squad detonated the device.

While trying to clear out the Capitol Building, the national guard was activated to prevent further insurrection.

Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence each gave statements condemning the attack with Pelosi imploring that Donald Trump demands they withdraw and stand down. Other members of government began to seriously consider options such as impeachment.

At 4:40 P.M., President Trump tweeted a video asking his supporters to "Go home."  He said, “I know your pain, I know your hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us, it was a landslide election, and everyone knows it especially the other side. But you have to go home now, we have to have peace.”

Notably, this statement does not address the validity of such claims, presenting them as if they are true. Trump may have pleaded for them to stand down, but the worst had already been done.

The Capitol Police began using more aggressive tools and tactics to dispel protestors, resorting to percussion grenades. By 6 PM, the building was finally secured.

At 8:07 P.M., the Senate reconvened. Vice President Mike Pence offered, "To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win.”

"Violence never wins. Freedom wins, and this is still the people's House. The elected representatives of the people of the United States have assembled again on the very same day to support and defend the Constitution of the United States… So may God bless the lost, the injured, and the heroes forged on this day."

Senate Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer began debate for the Democrats stating, “President Franklin Roosevelt set aside December 7, 1941 as a day that will live in infamy,” adding that, “Unfortunately, we can now add January 6, 2021 to the very short list of dates in American history that will forever live in infamy.”

Congress began to certify the results of the election state by state relatively smoothly until the results for Michigan were brought up, but the objection was declined as it was not signed by a senator. The certifying continued procedurally until again, a contentious swing state, this time our own state of Pennsylvania. This objection, raised by Missouri’s Josh Hawley, was heard but struck down by a vote of 92-7.

Not long after, during Representative Connor Lamb’s speaking time, Republican Andy Harris of Maryland and Democrat Collin Allred of Texas got into a shouting match and a subsequent physical altercation that was quickly broken up by other members.

The rest of the states’ election results were affirmed routinely.

Pence himself certified the final results declaring, “The electoral votes are as follows: Joseph R. Biden Jr. of the state of Delaware has received 306 votes. Donald J. Trump of the state of Florida has received 232 votes.” Vice President Pence then declared the joint session dissolved and gaveled out the session at 3:45 A.M..

It was around this time that it was found out that President Trump resisted sending the National Guard to the Capitol building. It was confirmed by officials that Vice President Pence actually took the appropriate actions to mobilize the National Guard to secure the Capitol complex, not President Trump which was previously stated.

In the early morning hours, rumors of the cabinet invoking the 25th Amendment began to circulate, these rumors later substantiated.

For those who may not know Section 4 of Amendment 25 of the United States Constitution, it gives the vice president and a majority of the cabinet power to immediately remove the president from office with a simple majority vote. Section 4 of the 25th amendment has never been used in our country's history.

The following day at Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s press conference, she had this to say on the matter: “The president has committed an unspeakable assault on our nation and our people...I join the Senate Democratic leader in calling on the vice president to remove this president by immediately invoking the 25th Amendment.”

She went on to discuss other ways that the president may be removed from office, saying, “If the vice president and the cabinet do not act, the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment.”

Impeachment is still a very real topic even as the clock is ticking on President Trump. Impeachment can happen with a simple majority vote in the House. There doesn't need to be a lengthy investigation.

As for the violent rightwing agitators, some held fast to their beliefs that what they were doing was right while others immediately distanced themselves and deflected the event as a false flag committed by “Antifa.” Anyone within the building suddenly went from being a truth-seeking patriot to an Antifascist agitator according to deep conservative news outlets, regardless of their previous rightwing activism or the amount of Trump merch they were wearing.

Quite the opposite was true, in fact. The event at the Capitol had pulled many alt right influencers and fascist organizers. Some of the people seen in live streams are wearing apparel espousing such ideals, such as the neo-Nazi spotted wearing a hoodie with the phrase “Camp Auschwitz.”

Regardless of the level of fascist action, federal law enforcement and social media now saw these MAGA militants as a real threat and has adopted a sort of zero tolerance policy towards them. Rightwing accounts have been getting purged across many platforms, President Donald J. Trump chief among them. Parler has been removed from most app stores, and the FBI is actively searching for tips on individuals present in the building during that day.

Recently, the military and FBI have concluded that these insurrectionists are not only still emboldened, but that they are also actively planning more events. The most notable one to occupy state capitol buildings across the country on inauguration day in an attempt to prevent president elect Joe Biden from reaching office.

The events of this week shocked the world and will be a stain on our democracy and history forever. One of our founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, said something once as he walked out into the streets of Philadelphia after the adoption of the Constitution. He was asked by people, “Mr. Franklin, what do we have, a monarchy or a republic?” He replied, “A republic if we can keep it.” That is now the question. Can we keep our republic for 8 days for President Trump to leave the White House?

The days of this week are some of the darkest days our democracy has ever seen, and certainly the darkest of my lifetime.