Storm of the Capitol

During the presidential election of 2020, Biden turned the tables of the election by winning many swing states including Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Virginia, Colorado, and Georgia. Georgian Democrats are now using their power to vote- Georgia was one of the last states to count and finalize their votes, which resulted in Biden winning by an extremely small margin of .2%. Because of how close the vote was, Georgia had to have a recount and Biden still one. This is a Democratic victory in the deep South. The Democrats have been hoping that Georgia would go blue again in the 2020 Senate race for the state and both republican seats flipped blue in the special election.  The Democrats only needed 2 more seats in order to equalize the Senate seats, thus controlling congress. However the stakes where high, if the Republicans had won the seat they will have had the majority and it would have been  harder for Democratic President Elect Biden to pass his laws/bills/proposals through the congress. Raphael Warnock has beaten Kelly Loeffler in the special election for Georgia, and Jon Ossoff is has captured David Perdue's seat. This election leaves the Senate at an equal end with 50 Democratic senators and 50 Republican senators- in other words, when proposals/laws/bills are passed through the Senate the votes will tend to tie. As it is the Vice President’s job to be the last vote in the case of a tie, the Democrats will be at an advantage. Many believe this is what caused the rioters to attack the Capitol and disrupt the voting process. More is covered in a story below. 

Today as congress attempted to certify the victory of president elect Biden, pro-Trump protesters have congregated around the Capitol. As the first objection was raised, the protesters tore through security shields and police storming the Capitol. They broke through all security, in fact, and began to move towards the House and Senate chanting “U-S-A.” According to Twitter photos many also lofted Confederate flags and wore camouflage.

 As they broke into the chamber, senators and house representatives put on gas masks and rushed out into the cloak room. Security operatives took a guardian standpoint, guns drawn, near the barricaded doors. As of now the National Guard has been activated and 1100 troops are headed to the Capitol. The American flag flying above the Capitol was ripped down and a pro-Trump flag was raised.

The protesters entered the Senate chambers and stormed the floor. According to the NY TIMES a protester sat in the Senate chair seat yelling “Trump won". These protesters are not stopping.  They are standing on top of police cars and shaking police barricades. They are even smashing windows and scaling the outside walls and breaking into offices. In response to these violent acts, the mayor of Washington D.C. announced an emergency curfew starting at 6pm. These protesters are moving towards the House chamber. Senators are being rushed out of the building and shots may have been fired. 

The entire D.C. The National Guard has been called into action: 1100 troops total. It is unclear who controls the capital as most officials have been evacuated. Lawmakers who have made it to safety are stunned and furious. Trump himself is in the oval office. Some protesters are calling this a “revolution”. Some close to Trump say that he wanted this to happen and that he is enjoying this. There are reports of people being transferred to hospitals from the capital complex. There is a QAnon flag flying outside the capital now. The capital is currently occupied, and under control of a man in a viking hat. Members of congress are being sheltered as protesters are trying to break into the House chamber. A message was left in House Chair Nancy Pelosi's office saying “We will not back down.”

Protesters have been injured and rushed to hospitals. An explosive device was found in the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee has been evacuated. More news will come.

During the storm on the capital, President Trump stayed active on Twitter. Soon after the protests began he started to tweet in response. His first tweet attacked Mike Pence, saying he “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and Constitution.” He said this gave states the chance to “certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify.” He ended the tweet saying, “USA demands the truth!” 

Later, as the protests got worse, Trump tweeted again, asking the people attacking the capital to “Please support our Capital Police and Law Enforcement.” He asks them to stay peaceful as the riots continue. 

He tweets again soon after asking them again to remain peaceful. He asks them to “Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order - respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!” 

Very soon after this tweet was sent, Ivanka Trump tweets asking the protesters to stop the violence, and reminds them that any “disrespect to the law enforcement is unacceptable”, while calling the protesters “American Patriots.” She later, when confronted about this, responded by saying “peaceful protest is patriotic,” and that “violence is unacceptable.” 

Vice President Mike Pence also calls for a stop to the violence, and tells protesters to leave the building. 

Maggie Haberman, a White House Correspondent says on a New York Times stream, “According to people close to the White House, several aides are urging the president to issue a stronger statement, and he simply won’t do it.”

Everyone is wondering what this means for NYC and our school community. Because of the impact of the presidential & Senate election results, the country is pretty torn, and thus there will be more protests and riots and this will be especially conflicting towards the people who are supposed to lead and represent us. As a young community these changes are impacting the things that happen around us. We could react in scared ways, or angered ways, depending on our belief system. The news can be frightening, and especially to young minds who are more fragile towards it. Here are some of the questions on ALL of our minds, questions we might not have answers to, but at least we know that we’re thinking them together.

• How will this affect our return to school? 

• What does this mean for the future of democracy? 

• How will this affect the transition of power on January 20? 

• Will there be additional Trump supporter protests, or counter protests?

• How will our own city react to this news?

• How can we hold our beliefs amidst these dangerous riots/protests?