Riot on the U.S. Capitol

Piper Genkin

On January 6th, 2021, history was made in Washington D.C.  After witnessing a speech made by President Trump, a large mob of his supporters made their way from the White House lawn to the U.S. Capitol.  Once at the Capitol, the mob gathered and began protesting the electoral confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden. The red-capped mob soon entered the building illegally: scaling large walls and climbing up scaffolding, breaking through smashed windows and doors, past the few security measures, and into the very heart of the Capitol: the Senate Chambers.  The mob also made their way into the offices of top officials that only the most vetted and secure personnel would normally be allowed into, including the office of Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.  Here, rioters stole government property, took pictures with their feet on the desks of top government officials, and left threats saying that they would not back down.  The few police on the scene, including officer Euguene Goodman, who could have saved the lives of many Senators and House Representatives, were tasked with controlling a mob of thousands without the proper personnel to safely and effectively do their jobs.  D.C. police officer Daniel Hodges was crushed in the doorway by the mob, fearing for his life.  This small amount of police, compared to the Black Lives Matter protests around the country earlier in the year, was met with extreme backlash from other government officials, political figures, and the general public. As the chaos ensued, President Trump sent out online Tweets to the angry mob to remain peaceful.  However, according to NBC Washington, by the end of the riots, one police officer was beaten to death, one rioter was shot and killed, and three other rioters died of medical emergencies.  It has since been revealed through sources like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s Instagram that congressmen and congresswomen from both political parties feared for their lives.  

In the weeks following the attack, Americans have begun to question the white privilege of the protesters (when people compared the Capitol riot with Black Lives Matter protests in the same location that received far more security) and the possibility that President Trump incited this riot against the country to which he swore his life.  According to the Washington Post, just before the attack, Donald Trump urged his supporters to go to the Capitol by saying, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol…you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong...”  Statements like these by the President of the United States have had a strong influence on the American people, and it is being debated whether or not these remarks incited the riot that followed hours later.   Due to the riot, the now-former President has made history by being the only President impeached twice.  According to BBC, in the following weeks, the Senate will meet and vote on whether Donald Trump should be given the power to run for re-election and possibly serve another term in 2024. Additionally, remarks from President Trump over Twitter were seen as so dangerous that his access to all social media was completely cut off.  This then sparked a discussion across the nation about the relationship between social media and our first amendment rights.  

As America analyzes these recent events, New Rochelle High School also took time to discuss the events in the classroom.  I asked Mr. Barbosa, the Social Studies Chair of the New Rochelle School District, questions about the district's response to not just the recent events at the Capitol, but the historical social movements and unprecedented events happening frequently in recent years.  When asked about the importance of discussing these topics, Mr. Barbosa said, “It is extremely important.  To ignore it sends the wrong message to our students who are well aware of the struggles that many are facing locally, nationally, or around the world.”  I also asked Mr. Barbosa about the importance of keeping the classroom setting unbiased. Mr. Barbosa explained, “It is a challenge for teachers to keep neutral, but it is something that we must do. Our personal political views have the ability to detrimentally influence students, and it can also alienate students with different political standpoints… We have the important role of facilitating discussion, not influencing or dominating the discussion.”  

Additionally, I spoke to Ms. Chipman, an AP World History teacher, who has made a point to talk about these pressing issues with her class.  I asked her why she takes time away from the curriculum about history from hundreds of years ago to talk about today’s news.  She told me, “...current events are the history of tomorrow.  It makes you a better student of past events to understand how history is created in real time.”  As Ms. Chipman explained, we are living through the history that other students will one day be taught and it is vital that we keep ourselves informed of these events that are changing the world.

The last year has been a whirlwind of health, economic, and environmental disasters, along with an extremely widespread political movement causing controversy across the world.  I also asked Ms. Chipman about the riots themselves, and how she thinks they will be viewed in history.  She said, “I think the importance of the riot will vary with the passage of time and how the events are handled, both by legal authorities and the general public.  It will depend how we ‘memorialize’ and explain the event in public memory.  That very issue is what is being contested right now.”  As Ms. Chipman explained, it’s hard to tell how intensely this event will be remembered amidst everything that has happened in recent years. What can be certain, however, is that this time in America is a historical one.