Did Trump incite violence that led to the Capitol Riot?

The events that unfolded on January 6, 2020, were some of the most horrific events in the recent history of the United States. Not only was our nation’s Capitol assaulted by a mob of rioters, but people died, and a wave of shock spread across the world. The question is, did Trump incite violence that led to the events in the Capitol? Yes. Here’s why.

January 6 was the day the 2020 election results were supposed to be confirmed. What is usually just a formality of counting votes soon turned into an attack on our democracy. The riot started at 6am when the rioters gathered near the Capitol at Trump’s request. He tweeted to “March on the Capitol” and “Fight.” His supporters did just that, and at 2:11pm, the rioters breached the Capitol. The senators and the vice president were evacuated immediately, and most had to shelter in place in underground bunkers. Pictures taken inside the building showed the desecration of our nation’s Capitol. People broke into Nancy Pelosi’s office, stole things from it, sat on her desk, and even removed the nameplate from her door. Others fought with the Capitol Police force, which was dispersed and failed to contain the mob. There was no word from the president as these events unfolded, despite constant urges from his Cabinet members and political leaders throughout the world.

Finally, President Trump tweeted a video at around 4, telling his supporters to go home. In it, he said, “I know your pain. I know you’re 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. We have to have law and order. ... So go home. We love you, you’re very special. ... I know how you feel. But go home and go home in peace.” By 5pm, the rioters had dispersed, leaving five people dead and a nation in shock.

The next day, following Trump's permanent suspension from Twitter, the 14th and 25th amendments were trending. The 25th Amendment is very difficult to invoke, and thus we will not discuss it. The 14th Amendment, on the other hand, fits perfectly here. It states that no person who has taken an oath and holds a public office such as the presidency can engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or provide aid or comfort to the enemies who provoked such events. Do Trump’s actions violate this amendment? Yes, without a doubt. First of all, Trump had been tweeting since November that the election had been stolen from him, something that the CIA and courts around the United States continually denied. His supporters believed him, and were enraged. The anger that was brewing after Biden’s win was uncontainable. So when Trump tweeted to march on the Capitol, pro-Trump supporters did his bidding. If asking your millions of supporters to “fight the election” isn't a direct incitement of violence, I don't know what is.

Secondly, Trump consoled these terrorists, and in the immediate aftermath of the event, he showed no signs of condemnation of their violent and unlawful actions. The rioters who had just breached the Capitol building, injuring and even killing police officers, were now invited to see themselves as victims of a “rigged election” and were “loved” for their actions by the president of the United States. If a foreign country sent soldiers to breach our Capitol, and they succeeded, the president would not hesitate to start a war. But when his own supporters do the same thing, he praises them. This is, without a doubt, a violation of the 14th Amendment.

Those who insist Trump didn’t violate the 14th Amendment think that Trump was simply exercising his First Amendment right, freedom of speech. This is a valuable part of our Constitution, but when the president of the United States tweets something to millions of people, bluntly saying to march to the very place the confirmation of votes is happening, he is inciting violence. The First Amendment only protects free speech until that speech is harmful or leads to violence. What Trump said led to violence.

When asked to comment on the riot and Trump’s role in it, Eli Borgenicht, a sophomore, said, “every single person at the planned terrorist attack was a Trump supporter. They were all there to stop the constitutional duties of the House of Representatives and the Senate. What was happening here was an attack on our democracy. Trump was telling his supporters to stop the count.” This is true since the whole attack was founded on the baseless claim that the elections were rigged; this was Trump’s last attempt to overthrow the results. Aurelie Wallis, another sophomore, responded to the same question by saying, “On January 6, the day of the ‘Save America’ rally, Trump said in front of his supporters, ‘If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore’ and ‘We are going to the Capitol.’ These are just two quotes from his speech, but it is undeniable that those very words inspired the terrorists and rioters to break into the U.S. Capitol.” Wallis also stated that during December and early January, Trump exhibited a pattern of “encouragement to fight the election results, incentivizing his supporters to ‘stop the steal’ and ‘fight for it.’” When asked if these were impeachable offenses, both students responded, “Yes.”

Lastly, let’s discuss what constitutes an impeachable offense. The difference between an impeachable offense and invoking the 14th Amendment is that the House votes on impeachment and the Senate votes on the invoking of the 14th Amendment. The Senate is still present while impeaching; they decide whether to convict the president of high crimes and misdemeanors and then remove him from office with a two-thirds majority vote. The Constitution states that a president who commits a high crime or misdemeanor can be impeached. Trump, without a doubt, committed a crime. For four years, this president has deeply divided our country, but never has he gone so far as to create a revolution against the government. No matter what your political party is, the Capitol riot was not only the most shameful event in recent history, but it was a representation of what Trump stands for. The Republican Party has stood by him for years, but following the events at the Capitol, many of them have removed themselves from his side, and members of his own Cabinet are resigning. Not convicting him in the Senate back in January was a mistake, and now is the time to show the world that our politicians don’t just talk, they get things done. Trump has committed a crime, and it’s time to confront him, no matter how many days are left in his term. The law cannot be ignored, whether there is one year, one month, or one day left in his term. No one is above the law. Not even the president.

If he is not found guilty, what does this say about our country? That with only days left in a dangerous president’s term, there won’t be consequences? That what this man said did not directly incite violence? I’ll leave you with one thought: have the last four years not proven that this man deserves to be removed from office? Have they not shown how consistently unprepared and unwilling this man is to hold the most powerful office in the world? Have we no shame?

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