PACE Club Weighs in on Capitol Riots

by Jesse Levine

Wednesday, January 6th began as a normal day on Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives and the Senate were both in session debating objections to the results of the Electoral College, a formal process that occurs after every presidential election. Meanwhile, throngs of Trump supporters gathered outside of the Capitol building. They were motivated by a “Stop the Steal” rally held outside of the White House earlier in the day. At the rally, President Trump, Rudy Guiliani, and Donald Trump Jr. encouraged the mob to act violently, indicating that violence would be necessary to “take back our country.” President Trump made his intentions clear, saying “after this, we’re going to walk down [to the Capitol] and I’ll be there with you.”

At roughly 1:15 PM, members of the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, pushing past police barriers and Capitol officers. Shortly after, the House and Senate recessed their debates over the objections and went under lockdown. The insurrectionists, adorned in racist and anti-Semitic paraphernalia, fought past the barricades and were able to enter and navigate the Capitol relatively easily; videos taken at the scene display rioters smashing windows with police shields, scaling the side of the building, and breaking down doors. Upon entering the Capitol, members of the mob ransacked offices, broke furniture, and stole items from the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The insurrectionists were even able to enter the floor of the Senate. Backup for the severely overwhelmed and underprepared Capitol police finally arrived around 5 p.m., who, with the help of the National Guard, secured a perimeter around the Capitol at 6:14 p.m.

Later that evening, both the House of Representatives and the Senate reopened debate and certified the election of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. However, an impressive 147 Republicans voted to overturn the election results, including Representatives Chris Jacobs, Nicole Malliotakis, Elise Stefanik, and Lee Zeldin, all from New York.

President Trump’s actions prompted House Democrats to draft articles of impeachment almost immediately. These articles were voted on on Wednesday January 13th, and Donald Trump became the first U.S president to be impeached twice. While 10 Republican representatives, including New York’s John Katko, voted in favor of impeachment, 197 voted against the impeachment, including New York Representatives Andrew Garbarino, Chris Jacobs, Nicole Malliotakis, Tom Reed, Elise Stefanik, and Lee Zeldin.

Political and Current Events (PACE) Club co-president Mae Lynds has been one of many people expressing their dismay over the events that occurred. “I was shocked at first. I didn’t understand how people could just storm the Capitol and break in so easily. I found their [the insurrectionists’] actions odious, and I was disgusted by their behavior.” Lynds believes that anyone responsible for inciting or encouraging the mob should suffer the full consequences of their actions. She expressed optimism on the subject of the future Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump, describing the excitement she felt when numerous Republican members of Congress in the House of Representatives voted to impeach the President. “Something to keep in mind,” Lynds said, “is that now that Trump is no longer the President, the Republican party may not feel obligated to support him like they have for the past four years.” In the end, she believes that an impeachment of Donald Trump would set a precedent, proving that no sitting President should be able to incite a riot and move on unscathed.

Regarding the actions of the New York members of Congress who voted against the certification of Biden’s election and the impeachment of Donald Trump, Lynds stated, “It simply shows that as Democratic as we may think New York State is, we cannot ignore the Republican party’s power in upstate New York.” She explained that the 20th congressional district, which includes Albany, Schenectady, and portions of Rensselaer and Saratoga counties, should be considered a Democratic outlier. The Cook Political Report, an independent, nonpartisan, online newsletter, rated the 20th district as a D+7 on the Partisan Voting Index, meaning that the district performs 7 points more Democratic than the national average. However, the 22nd and 23rd districts are both rated as R+6, meaning that they perform 6 points more Republican than the national average. “The Republican party changed dramatically with the election of Donald Trump,” Lynds explained, “and I think that it’s going to take some time to rid our democracy of his influence.”

At a PACE Club meeting on January 13th, students were encouraged to share their thoughts and opinions about the events at the Capitol. Anyone interested in joining the club for future conversations on politics and current events should join PACE’s Google Classroom (sndcor5) and follow @nisky_pace_club on Instagram.