On Jan. 6, a violent mob, inspired by the words of President Donald Trump, orchestrated a deadly form of insurrection by storming the U.S. Capitol Building in an unprecedented attack on American democracy. The breach occurred as a joint session of Congress was verifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the November presidential election. Thousands of rioters overwhelmed Capitol Police security and got into the building, infiltrating the offices of members of Congress and forcing the building to be evacuated. six people were killed as a result of the riot. A similar protest also occurred at Washington state Governor Jay Inslee’s mansion in Olympia, although that one was more peaceful and controlled.
The riot at the Capitol Building came after President Doanld Trump spoke at a mass rally of his supporters earlier that same morning, encouraging his followers to march to the Capitol Building and challenge the results of the election, citing that it was rigged against him. However, there is no evidence of widespread voting fraud in the November presidential election, as Trump has claimed, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
“Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. And after this, we’re going to walk down [to the Capitol Building] and I’ll be there with you,” Trump said. “Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.”
These remarks have prompted dozens members of Congress to call for Trump to be removed from office for inciting violence. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced her intention to impeach Trump, if he does not “immediately” resign.
“In calling for this seditious act, the president has committed an unspeakable assault on our nation, and our people,” Pelosi said at a press conference on Jan. 7. “I join the Senate Democratic leader in calling on the vice president to remove this president by immediately invoking the 25th Amendment. If the vice president and Cabinet do not act, the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment.”
Several Republican members of Congress have also voiced their support for Trump’s removal. Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said on Jan. 8 that he would “definitely consider” impeachment articles against Trump if they were to come up in the Senate.
“I believe the president has disregarded his oath of office. He swore an oath to the American people to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. He acted against that,” Sasse said in an interview on CBS News. “What he did was wicked.”
Since the riot at the capitol, Trump has been censored on many social media sites. Both Facebook and Instagram have suspended his accounts until at least after President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, and Twitter permanently banned him on Jan. 9, stating that his recent tweets were a violation of their “glorifying violence” policy.
