On January 6, 2021, supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. as Congress was meeting to certify the electoral college results of the 2020 presidential election. The attackers breached security barricades, vandalized the building, and clashed with law enforcement in a violent and unprecedented attack.
The riot resulted in multiple deaths, injuries, and widespread damage to the Capitol. Members of Congress were evacuated and the certification process was interrupted for several hours before eventually being completed.
The attack on the Capitol was widely condemned by political leaders and the public, with many describing it as an assault on democracy itself. President-elect Joe Biden characterized the event as an “unprecedented assault” on American democracy and called on Trump to address the nation and demand an end to the violence.
In the aftermath of the attack, law enforcement authorities worked to identify and apprehend those responsible, leading to numerous arrests and ongoing investigations. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for incitement of insurrection, making him the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.
The events of January 6 have raised concerns about the state of democracy and political polarization in the United States. Many have called for accountability for those who participated in or incited the attack, as well as for efforts to heal the divisions that have deepened in the aftermath of the 2020 election.