the us Capitol Insurrection

With the recent political chaos at the Capitol, Mariah and Pooja assess the situation that took place in America earlier this month, and the long-term effects it'll have on the people and the image of this country.

The Capitol Insurrection & The Downfall of Donald Trump

By Pooja Patel and Mariah Lumsden

January 23, 2021

Extremist far right groups and Pro-Trump supporters alike stormed the United States Capitol building Wednesday afternoon January 6th, 2021 in support of President Donald J. Trump, who lost the popular vote, as well as the electoral vote. Congress was set this day to confirm President-elect Joe Biden. After falsely claiming Trump had won the election, he encouraged his supporters to still attend rallies and continue their support. Tens of thousands of his supporters were able to breach security and enter the U.S. Capitol building, where a woman was shot and later passed away due to her injuries. Upon entering the building and breaking several federal laws, the protestors were seen climbing on the walls of the building and looting, while there had even been confirmation of an explosive device found. The Capitol building had undergone lockdown.

During the midst of a deadly pandemic, Pro-Trump supporters had breached the U.S. Capitol-- for the most part, unmasked. They were motivated by Trump’s false speech in which he had claimed that the election had been stolen from him. Meanwhile, the building was being evacuated and the Washington D.C. mayor issued a curfew that would begin at 6 P.M Eastern Standard Time and life the next morning.

Now let's compare this “protest” with the BLM protest, which received much backlash for their violence and “breaking the law.” The response to the BLM protest was far more intense and wrong from the government's side. There were rubber bullets, tear gas, arrests, and an excessive amount of violence used on those protesters who were actually protesting peacefully for their rights. Let's put emphasis on the word: Rights. The BLM protest was labelled “bad”, “violent”, and the protestors were labelled as “thugs”, and “looters'' because of some instigators who were not even part of the protest. 93% of the BLM protests were peaceful, yet they were attacked with an unnecessary amount of police and military force and hate.

Donald J. Trump publicly stated, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” He even threatened to send in the National Guard to get the city back under control. But where is this energy and action now when the world needs it the most? What happened at the U.S capitol was not a protest; it was terrorism. Protest is a complaint or objection against an idea, act or a way of doing things, and/or an event in which people gather to show disapproval of something. Terrorism is the unlawful use of FORCE and VIOLENCE against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. Why is it that, when one event or small looting at a store happens at a protest that was done by instigators, it causes the whole movement to get labelled violent, bad, and gets shut down? But when the United States capital, and the congress people's safety is in danger, are they referred to as “patriots'' or not judged?

The contrast between these two groups is that the BLM protests are for colored people’s rights and justice for them, whereas the violence and break-in at the U.S capitol happened because the pro-trump supporters did not get their way and they lost. Now let me ask you a question: what if the people breaking into the U.S capitol were brown or black colored people? We all know how that would have ended up. There would be dead bodies, arrests, military, navy guard, every tactic would be used to stop them. What is President Trump doing right now?

At the U.S capitol, many pictures surfaced where people were stealing the podium, sitting disrespectfully on Nancy Pelosi’s office desk, putting their feet up, and stealing the mail and important documents. There were papers being littered, windows being broken, walls being climbed. The U.S. Capitol was absolutely being looted. The most disgusting and disturbing atrocity was that the rioters at the capitol recreated George Floyd’s death in front of the national city church. They recreated the murder of an innocent black men and mocked him. This is 2021 now; why do colored people still have to fight for their rights? Why do their deaths get mocked? Why are they treated violently when they stand up for themselves while the Trump supporters can do whatever they want without facing consequences? How was the police and security so weak all of a sudden? When they had to stop the BLM protest, they were on top of that with their violence and guns, tear gas and hurting people. But when they needed to protect the U.S capitol, which is supposed to be the most protected place during this time, they fell back, stood by, and watched. The government spends millions and millions of dollars into their funds system and equipment, what use is that coming to?

The white privilege is real, dangerous, and scary. The actions against these Trump rioters and terrorists were taken very late, and not even handled properly. When black people kneel during a football game, protested peacefully, and fought for their rights they were labelled anti-American. But when white, pro trump supporters storm the capitol during democratic proceedings, it is addressed sweetly and not with the same energy as the BLM protests. Trump said, “Go home. We love you. You’re very special...I know how you feel” to these rioters at the capitol when he literally threatened to have BLM protestors shot. The hypocrisy that exists here is disturbing and truly disgusting.

The Confederate flag has not made it into the Capitol building. Not even during the Civil War, until Jan. 6, 2021. A trump supporter was pictured waving a confederate flag inside the capitol building. This is serious and scary. We are literally moving backward in history and repeating it. The flag has many controversies behind it. Some people say it is to show “Southern pride” but, in reality, it is anti-American, anti-union and promotes racism. There were also pictures of people taking down the American flag outside the capitols and building and putting up Trump flags instead. Many people were shaking when colored people did something against the American flags but, when the white Trump supporters are doing it, why are no fingers being raised at them? Where did everyone's patriotism and Americanism go?

I will repeat this again: black people were protesting for their lives. These Trump supporting rioters are “protesting” because they lost. There is a huge difference with the consequences faced by these both groups and for the reason they are protesting for.

Donald Trump is the first ever president to have been impeached twice, as of Jan. 13, 2021. He was previously impeached due to inciting violence in the insurrection that left 5 people dead, which was later confirmed on the impeachment day. US House Representative Joaquin Castro said, “If inciting a deadly insurrection isn’t enough to get a president impeached, then what is?” This was when it was undecided if enough Republicans were going to vote to convict Trump. Trump was finally impeached in the US House by a vote of 232 to 197.

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