Happy Anniversary to the End of American Democracy

This was written by Emily, one of our student interns. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue.

As of July 6, it has been six months since the January 6th insurrection and attack on the nation’s capital. Six months since violent rioters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to halt the official counting of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election. On July 1, the New York Times released a documentary, Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol,recounting that day’s events by compiling the footage taken from both Capitol police and the rioters themselves. From this documentary, several lessons can be learned and it serves as a much needed reflection on the crimes against American democracy that took place on January 6, 2021. 

The events of January 6 left five people dead and over 150 injured, many of whom were members of the Capitol police or D.C. metropolitan police. This violence was not accidental or unplanned; groups such as the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and Q-Anon supporters planned to storm the Capitol all along and the proof is in the footage. The night prior to the attack, many gathering Trump supporters were already discussing their plans to “take the Capitol” and similar sentiments were expressed in the hours leading up to Trump’s speech on the morning of January 6. Rioters belonging to the far-right extremist group the Oath Keepers showed up to Trump’s speech wearing protective gear and organized themselves by stitching their group’s logo into their clothing in order to identify each other. Meanwhile, another far-right extremist group, the Proud Boys, had already begun to march to the Capitol while Trump was delivering his speech and used orange hats or orange stripes on their backs to identify fellow members. Both groups were preemptively armed with hammers, baseball bats, and chemical weapons such as pepper spray and mace along with having a system of radios to communicate from longer distances. All of this suggests that while some rioters had no previous intention to storm the Capitol before January 6, a large number of them did with the purpose of inciting violence, indicating that January 6 was a nefarious attempt to undermine our democratic processes and way of life. It was not a “peaceful protest” as some Republican officials are now claiming the insurrection to be. In the rioters’ own words, D.C. was “a motherf***ing war zone.”

A multitude of aspects of the attack smeared American democracy and what America is supposed to stand for. The Confederate Flag was flown inside the Capitol. The flag that supported the continuance of slavery and that is seen as a major symbol of racism today. The flag that supported the literal division of the United States of America. Members of the Proud Boys consistently displayed symbols and gestures of white supremacy inside the building that is, supposedly, a representation of the land of the free. An American Flag was used to beat a police officer. One of the most important symbols of America was used to assault an officer who was putting their life on the line in order to defend our democracy while the person wielding the flag was claiming to be the “true patriot.” Speaking of the rioters’ hypocrisy, the same groups that stormed the Capitol and attacked not only police but the national guard, are the same groups that support Blue Lives Matter. The people who shout “Protect our Blue”, “Blue Lives Matter”, and “All Lives Matter” to the protest cry of “Black Lives Matter” injured over 150 people who they claimed to idolize and back wholeheartedly.  One officer was dragged by the helmet, face-first down the Capitol steps. Another was rammed against a doorframe he was stuck in by the force of hundreds of rioters. Others were tased, bludgeoned, pepper sprayed, and what little protective gear they had ripped off of them. Officer Brian Sicknick was killed by the rioters; he had a fire extinguisher thrown at his head and was repeatedly sprayed with mace or bear spray according to medical examiners. 

Five people died on January 6. Four of them were rioters and one a police officer. If it were up to the rioters, the casualties would have been significantly higher. As stated before, a great number of those who stormed the Capitol were armed and they were looking for the government officials who, as they were told by Trump, were “stealing the election.” Footage repeatedly shows rioters asking where the vote counting was occurring and violently trying to force their way into the House chambers while members of Congress and staffers were still being evacuated. They weren’t just trying to stop the officiation of Joe Biden’s victory, they were looking to harm or even assassinate the government officials who stood in their way. A large mob was searching for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and broke down the doors to her offices in their hunt. All the while they were chanting her name in a menacing fashion. The chant “hang Mike Pence” was also a popular one and there was even a gallows-like structure that was erected at Trump’s speech earlier that day. Furthermore, the surge of violence and rage from rioters at seeing Representatives and staffers escaping is what prompted the police to fatally shoot Ashli Babbitt. Without the incredible bravery and quick thinking from Officer Eugene Goodman, the casualties from the insurrection might have included senators and Capitol staff. Further damage could have been done as one Capitol aide who escaped with former Vice President Mike Pence and his family was carrying important nuclear launch equipment. 

When most people think of the elements of a democracy, they think of the right to vote or free and fair elections or the freedom of speech. However, one of the key elements that defines a democracy is the peaceful transfer of power. That is why many in the international community are hesitant to declare countries such as Botswana, which has held free and fair elections for decades, as a democracy because the same party has remained in power. The attack on the Capitol on January 6 was an insurrection. People came to the Capitol with malicious intent to undermine the certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election for which there is no evidence of fraud. That is not a peaceful transfer of power. Because of January 6 and the actions of Trump supporters as well as Trump himself, America’s status as a democracy is threatened. In fact, Freedom House, one of the main three institutions that measure democracy, has indicated that the United States, from 2020 alone, has decreased its stability as a democracy in Freedom House’s largest categorical jump. That is worse than China and Russia combined. That report was released prior to the insurrection as the report comes out yearly, therefore that significant decrease was from the mere spread of lies from Trump and his team about the election. We can only wait and see how much further America falls as a result of the insurrection when Freedom House’s 2021 report comes out.

What’s more concerning, however, is the Republican party’s refusal to acknowledge the events of January 6. Republicans refused to support a bipartisan commission to investigate January 6th and all but two Republicans in the House voted against the formation of a select committee to investigate the insurrection. Republicans are also trying to rewrite the narrative of the insurrection. Representative Andrew Cylde, who assisted in barricading the House chambers from the rioters, is now saying that “if you didn’t know the TV footage was a video from January 6, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.” So while Republicans try and erase this dark stain from America’s history, now is the time to reflect on what really happened six months ago and what it means for the future of American democracy.

You can watch the New York Times’ documentary for free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWJVMoe7OY0&t=0s