Insurrection
The country has been through a great deal in the last five years. At that time, who would have thought a President’s administration would end in insurrection.
Insurrection:
"The act of revolting against civil authority
or an established government."
-Merriam Webster Dictionary
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The Presidential election of 2020 made history. In the Republican party, the incumbent “President” was on the ticket. In the Democrat party, former Vice President Joe Biden was on the ticket.
In September 2020, the first debate was held for the two candidates. The event was one for the history books. Every time that Biden spoke, the former "President" spoke over him, in an attempt to bully and intimidate him. The moderator of the debate, Chris Wallace, tried his best to hold the candidates to the debate structure, to have a productive debate. In actuality, the event was anything but.
Of all of the comments made in the debate, there was one that would be a foreshadowing. When asked to denounce white supremacy, the former “President” told members of a white supremacist group to "...stand back and stand by." The country had no idea what that meant, or the horrors that would await us.
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The Presidential election took place on November 3, 2020. As it was a hotly contested race, and an election in a pandemic, Americans were prepared that it would be days before the final votes would be tallied and a winner declared. Millions of Americans voted in person through early voting and Election Day polling places, while the majority of Americans voted via absentee ballot through the mail.
The final results of
the election came in on Saturday, November 7, declaring Joe Biden the winner,
with 81 million votes, more than any other candidate in U.S. history. The former "President" won 74 million votes.
Despite having earned less votes, the former "President" declared that
he had won the election.
https://cookpolitical.com/2020-national-popular-vote-tracker
The next step in the process of the election, after the general election, was the Electoral College vote. In the weeks between the general election and the EC vote, the former "President" would not admit that he lost the election. He refused to concede the race, and refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power, one of the foundations of American democracy.
The Electoral College vote took place on December 14, 2020. Biden won the Electoral College vote, earning 306 votes. The former "President" won 232 votes. In the U.S. election system, a candidate needs to acquire 270 Electoral College votes to win the Presidency. Biden was now the winner of both the popular and electoral votes.
After the Electoral Vote, the former "President" continued to deny the election results. He filed lawsuits in every state he lost. He declared that the election was stolen from him, that he had won the election, and that the election was rigged.
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Weeks later, the former “President” announced he was going to hold a rally in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday January 6, 2021, the day that Congress was to finalize the Electoral College vote.
On the morning of January 6, the former "President" held his rally. His children were there, and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani was there as well. Here is some of what was said that day:
Donald Trump
Jr:
"You have an opportunity today. You can be a hero, or you can be a zero. And the choice is yours. But we are all watching. The world is watching, folks. Choose wisely."
Kimberly
Guilfoyle (girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr-before the rally):
"Have the courage to do the right thing. Fight!"
Rudy Giuliani, during the rally:
"....let's have a trial by
combat."
And then the former "President" spoke:
"President"
Trump:
"We will never give up. We will never concede, it doesn't happen. You don't concede when there's theft involved...After this we're going to walk down and I'll be there with you...we're going to walk to the Capitol...you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong...we fight. We fight like Hell. And if you don't fight like Hell, you're not going to have a country anymore..."
https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6
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At 1pm that afternoon, Congress met to certify the Electoral College vote. Shortly thereafter, the throng from the rally, draped in Trump flags and MAGA hats, attacked the U.S. Capitol. Members of Congress, and Vice President Mike Pence, were ushered to safety during the attack.
Footage recorded
during the siege on the Capitol is staggering and horrifying. One video showed
domestic terrorists breaking windows to gain access to the building. Another video showed a Capitol Police Officer being
crushed in a door. He bled from his mouth and screamed in agony as the throng
surged upon him, intentionally crushing him between the door and its frame.
There was also shocking
footage of members of Congress in the House gallery. Representatives on the House
floor had been ushered to safety, and the domestic terrorists were kept at
bay at the House doors. However, those in the gallery of the House, on the
upper level, were stuck. Representatives got on the ground of the gallery,
sheltered in place, and put on gas masks. This video shows Capitol police in
the House gallery, protecting those present, as well as the fight to prevent
entry to the House chamber.
The most chilling
footage, for me, was of Capitol policeman Eugene Goodman, who was chased up the
stairs backwards.
What the world would come to know, in later days, was that Officer Goodman paused for a brief second. He knew that to the left lay the Senate doors. To the right, there was an escape route, more hallways and stairs. In that instant he made the tactical decision to turn to the right, hoping the mob would follow him. His instinctive decision proved true. If he had gone to the left, he would have led the mob to the Senate floor, which would have been catastrophic.
As the video of
Officer Goodman shows, the Capitol Police were clearly outnumbered. Seditionists
brought flex cuffs, pepper spray, tears gas, guns, and explosives. There was
one more weapon in their arsenal that day: a gallows constructed opposite the
Capitol.
Video footage of the
siege shows insurrectionists shouting “Hang Mike Pence.” From one report, the
mob got within 100 feet of where VP Pence was being sheltered in place. There
were also death threats against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez that day.
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I remember the day of the attack on the Capitol vividly. I was at work, and had some downtime to check my social media. I logged on Twitter, and read a Senator's post. It said something to the effect of: "My staff and I are sheltered in place and are fine.
As I scrolled through my Twitter feed I came to learn of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. I remained glued to the computer screen, reading comments and stories about people who were in the Capitol who had escaped with their lives.
That night, I got off of work early. I went to my local grocery store, and then headed right home to watch coverage of the siege. By the time I arrived home, the National Guard was on the scene in Washington D.C., and the streets were quiet. What happened? Had all of the fighting stopped? Why was there no footage of people being arrested?
Let me describe the mob of domestic terrorists that stormed the Capitol: they were white, middle class Americans. This mob of white domestic terrorists supported the former "President”; they believed that the election was stolen from him, and they had come to Washington D.C. to get it back. There were police officers in the mob. There were former U.S. Military members in the mob. There were white supremacists in the mob. There were hate groups in the mob. This was not a peaceful protest. It was an attack on America, on our very democracy.
It was then that words from the Presidential debate echoed in my mind:
“…stand back, and stand by…”
*
That night, hours after the attack on the Capitol, Congress reconvened to finalize the Electoral vote. Vice President Mike Pence addressed the nation:
"Today
was a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol. But thanks to the
efforts of U.S. Capitol police, federal, state, and local law enforcement, the
violence was quelled. The Capitol is secured, and the people's work continues.
We condemn the violence that took place here in the strongest possible terms.
We grieve the loss of life in these hallowed halls, as well as the injuries
suffered by those who defended our Capitol today. And we will always be
grateful to the men and women who stayed at their posts to defend this historic
place. To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win.
Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people's house."
*
Members of Congress
reported on their experiences of being sheltered in place during the
siege. Many young staffers who work at the Capitol instinctively knew what to
do in this emergency, as they had received active shooter training in school.
Representative Ayanna
Pressley reported that she and her staff sheltered in place in her offices.
When she went to press the panic button, she found it had been ripped out of
the wall.
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The crowd that attacked the Capitol did so as part of an attempted coup to retain power for the former “President.” When speaking of this day, and of the Americans that stormed the Capitol, language must be used carefully. The people involved are not “protestors”, or “demonstrators”, or “rioters.” They are white domestic terrorists, seditionists, insurrectionists, white supremacists, fellow Americans. They believed every lie the “President” told. They pledged their fealty to a demagogue, and would do anything to keep him in power.
Five people died in
the siege on the Capitol, including a woman who was crushed to death, trampled in
the melee with seditionists and officers.
There was also a Capitol police officer who died in the attack, Brian Sicknick. He died from skull fractures after being beaten in the head with a fire extinguisher. Last night, officer Sicknick’s remains lay in honor in the Capitol rotunda, an honor normally reserved for presidents and heads of state. President Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, visited the rotunda to pay their respects.
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Images from that day
are burned into my memory. I began to research when there had last been an
attack on the Capitol. There had not been a siege since the War of 1812, when
British forces set fire to the Capitol in 1814.
Learning that date, it made me think about the U.S. Civil War. One of the insurrectionists that day had a Confederate flag, the flag of Confederate Army in the U.S. Civil War, 1861-1865. The Confederate Army fought to preserve the Southern way of life, which had slavery at the heart of its economy. Since the Civil War the Confederate flag has become a symbol of slavery, oppression, white supremacy and hatred. Seeing the seditionist with the Confederate flag, I began to wonder how long it had been since that flag was in the Capitol. The answer is never-as a symbol of insurrection.
"The
Confederate flag made it deeper into Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, than it did
during the Civil War"-William Blair, professor emeritus of history, Penn
State
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/us/politics/confederate-flag-capitol.html
I then thought about World War II, from 1939-1945. The fight on American soil during the war was the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. There was not an attack on Washington D.C. or on the Capitol.
I then thought of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. That day, two airplanes flew into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon. A fourth plane was taken over by passengers, who overpowered the hijackers and crashed the plane. The plane went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The exact target of the fourth plane is unknown; it could have been the White House, or the U.S. Capitol.
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Since the siege on the U.S. Capitol, there have been several reports of depression and trauma for those tasked with cleaning up the mess in Capitol, after the insurrection. It has also taken a toll in the police officers that responded to the siege. Over 130 officers were wounded in the melee. Since that day, two officers have committed suicide, having suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after the attack.
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In thinking about the siege on the Capitol, I thought of how to even begin to write about the events of January 6. I thought that, possibly, a metaphor might encapsulate what occurred that day. The first thought that came to mind was: “The insurrectionists defecated on our democracy.” As it turns out, I wasn't wrong. Human urine and excrement were found in the Capitol, the latter of which was found to be smeared and tracked throughout the building.
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With every day that
passes, new information is learned about the siege on the Capitol. The full
story is not yet known. It will take time to unearth all there is to know about
the events of that day. For example, there is a reason that Capitol Police
officers were outnumbered that day. There’s a reason why the Department of
Justice refused to call out the National Guard.
There have been
numerous arrests in the days and weeks for those involved in the insurrection
at the U.S. Capitol. The mob was to have been numbered in the thousands.
While it was a small number that actually made it into the building, there must
be consequences for all parties, including charges of sedition, treason, and
insurrection.
There must also be consequences for the former “President” for the siege on the U.S. Capitol. If there are no consequences for this attack on the American government, this will happen again. Another demagogue will declare the press to be the enemy of the people, and will gaslight the American people with constant lies and untruths. They will be elected President, they will attack our democracy, and they will do anything to retain power. Five people died at the siege at the Capitol. The number is growing. And the blood is squarely on his hands.
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On January 13, the U.S. House of Representatives held an impeachment trial with only one article: that the former "President" incited an insurrection. Representatives voted, and he was impeached. He is finally a winner: he’s the only “President” in U.S. history to have been impeached twice.
Now the impeachment trial begins next week in the U.S. Senate. The Democrats released a trial brief which reads, in part:
“In a grievous betrayal to his Oath of
Office, President Trump incited a violent mob to attack the United States
Capitol during the Joint Session, thus impeding Congress’s confirmation of
Joseph R. Biden Jr., as the winner of the presidential election…Our seat of
government was violated, vandalized, and desecrated… The Nation will indeed
remember January 6, 2021-and President Trump’s singular responsibility for that
tragedy… There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United
States of his office and his oath to the Constitution…To reaffirm our core
constitutional principles-and to deter future Presidents from attempting to
subvert our Nation’s elections-the Senate should convict President Trump and
disqualify him from holding or enjoying ‘any Office or honor, Trust, or Profit
under the United States…”
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/02/politics/democrats-impeachment-trial-brief/index.html
I am cautiously optimistic about the upcoming impeachment trial. To me it is an open and shut case. Of course, this is because I live in reality. Many in the Republican Party, the GOP, are still loyal to the former “President.” The former “President” is a billionaire; they will say anything he wants, and will agree with anything he says, to get his money and protect their political careers.
For years the Republican Party has been the party of white conservatism, homophobia, xenophobia, anti LGBTQ rights, anti-women’s rights, and more. Yet, I know that the majority of Republicans are good people, and find his attempted coup to be unconscionable and despicable.
This is where action must take place. Republicans who are not in line with the former "President", his politics and policies, need to publicly denounce him. They should start a third party -the truth party. Commit to tell the truth. Denounce your past policies of white supremacy, racism and homophobia. Declare your policies and intentions for the future. Wash your hands of this morally bankrupt former “President” and his policies, and begin anew. Cleanse the moral stain he and your party have left on this country.
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While I am skeptical of conviction in the impeachment trial, I remain hopeful for the future.
President Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States of America on January 20, 2021. Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President of the United States of America. She is the first female, first black person, and the first person of Indian descent to ever hold the office.
It was a stellar inauguration. Gaga sang, Hillary and Michelle slayed the fashion, and Amanda Gorman recited her glorious words. It was a beautiful day, full of hope and possibility for the nation.
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I still have trouble believing it’s over. When I hear the words “The President” on the news, I still picture the former one, who attempted a coup on our democracy. It takes me a moment to remember that we have a new President. That will take some getting used to.
For the next four years, when I write of the President, I will not be using quotations to accompany the word. President Biden is already on the job, actively working to the fix the damage done by the former resident in the White House. The future is bright. We have work to do, and we can do it together.
Moving into the
future, we must remember the events of January 6, 2021. We must be mindful that
freedom isn’t free. We almost lost our country to a demagogue. We have to
preserve and protect our democracy, and ensure that an insurrection never
happens again.
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