Any political confrontation between the existing Government and the system has value for study. In particular, this aspect concerns cases when the uprising acquires violent or physical characteristics. Such an event occurred on January 6, 2021, when a large number of dissatisfied voters attacked the Capitol Building. The study of the causes of this behavior, the strengths and weaknesses of the Government’s reaction, and the predictions regarding the aftermath of this case are essential for understanding the political and social sphere of modern society.
First of all, it is necessary to consider the causes and foundations of the event under study. Thus, on January 6, 2021, a mass attack of people on the Capitol Building took place in the capital of the United States of America (“Capitol riots timeline: What happened on January 6, 2021?” 2022). The crowd represented voters who were dissatisfied with the resignation of President Donald Trump and wished to interfere with the process of counting votes to approve the choice of Joe Biden as the new head of the country (Kydd, 2021).
Research stated that “the rioters pushed past severely outnumbered Capitol Police officers, breaking windows and vandalizing offices, many with disturbingly violent intentions toward members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence” (“The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol,” 2022, para. 2). As a result of this attack, five people, and many were injured and injured of various severity (“The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol,” 2022). Therefore, the protesters managed to storm part of the Capitol building and hold it for several hours.
As already mentioned, the main reason for the opposition of citizens was dissatisfaction with the resignation of President Trump. Moreover, Donald Trump’s statement on social networks about allegations of vote fraud played a special role. It became a driving force that had a strong effect on the supporters of the former head of the country. Moreover, Trump’s speech had a detrimental effect where the former president called on people to fight for the state and storm the building where the congress was sitting. This statement provoked the crowd to further terrible violent actions.
The strength of the response of the United States Government was an immediate reaction to what was happening. Research stated that “it continues to investigate losses that resulted from the breach of the Capitol” and “the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the attack continues to move forward at an unprecedented speed and scale” (“one year since the January 6 attack on the capitol,” 2021, para. 2). Employees arrested more than 725 people, a smaller part of whom immediately admitted their guilt, and many were convicted of entering or remaining in a restricted federal building and conspiracy (“One year since the January 6 attack on the Capitol,” 2021). Thus, the Government emphasizes the extremely negative nature of such actions.
The events of January 6, 2021, have left a significant imprint on the history of the United States. The fierce attack by Trump supporters on the American Capitol had significant negative consequences and led to deaths and multiple injuries of people. In addition, the main consequence of this case may be a subsequent change in the election process in the country and consideration of the issue of the continued existence of an extremist branch of Republicans.
References
Kydd, A. H. (2021). Decline, radicalization and the attack on the US Capitol. Violence: An International Journal, 2(1), 3-23. Web.
Capitol riots timeline: What happened on 6 January 2021?. (2022). BBC. Web.
The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (2022). American Oversight. Web.
One year since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. (2022). USA Department of Justice. Web.