January 6 United States Capitol attack |
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Timeline • Planning |
Background |
Participants |
Aftermath |
2020 U.S. presidential election | |
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Attempts to overturn | |
Democratic Party | |
Republican Party | |
Third parties | |
Related races | |
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More than seventy countries and international organizations expressed their concerns over the January 6 United States Capitol attack and condemned the violence, with some specifically condemning President Donald Trump's own role in inciting the attack. [1] [2] Foreign leaders, diplomats, politicians, and institutions expressed shock, outrage, and condemnation of the events. [3] [4] Multiple world leaders made a call for peace, describing the assault as "an attack on democracy". [5] The leaders of some countries, including Brazil, Poland, and Hungary, declined to condemn the situation, and described it as an internal U.S. affair. [6]
As early as January 2021, a few European security officials described the events as an attempted coup. [7]
The attack was celebrated by far-right and fascist groups around the world, with rioter Ashli Babbitt being commemorated as a martyr by some British and Russian neo-Nazis. The Nordic Resistance Movement condemned Trump for allegedly betraying the rioters by being insufficiently supportive of them. [196]
WNBC reported that media outlets around the world reacted to the attack, with newspapers from both the left and the right condemning the behavior of Trump and his supporters. [197]
British newspaper i described the attack as "Anarchy in the USA.", with the sub-heading: "Trump incites thousands of protestors to storm the Capitol, saying 'We will never concede.'". British newspaper The Times ran the headline: "U.S. Capitol under siege". Both newspapers, among others, featured a photograph of armed Capitol Police officers barricading the door to the chamber of the House of Representatives. British television news channel Sky News led their coverage of the attack with deaths and arrests, running the headline: "Riot at US Capitol: Four dead as outrage grows over Trump-inspired mob's storming of Congress", as well as detailing that 52 arrests had been made related to the attack. [197]
French newspaper Le Monde led their coverage with Capitol Police regaining full control over the Capitol building, noting that "security was no longer threatened" and also noted "'Enough is enough': After the invasion of the Capitol, Republicans close to Trump are turning their backs on him". French newspaper Le Figaro's live blog on the front page of its website led with then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying "Congress will not be intimidated." [197]
German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ran the headline: "Republicans in shock", with a lead noting that "for many Republicans, the moment seems to have come when they no longer want to defend Donald Trump." [197]
Russian news outlets led with mass coverage of "political crisis in the United States", as Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda put it. Russian government-owned newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta led with online rolling coverage on the "chaos" in Washington, D.C. next to a comment from Konstantin Kosachev, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, saying that the attack "showed that American democracy was limping on both legs and the United States lost the right to impose a course on other countries." Russian newspaper Izvestia led its coverage with the headline: "Once upon a time in America: how Donald Trump drove the crowd to frenzy", with a lead stating that "Party members began to turn away from the current president amid the outbreak of violence in Washington." [197]
The Communist Party of China's (CPC) newspaper, the People's Daily , had little coverage of the attack on their website's homepage. However, the Global Times , a Chinese tabloid newspaper run by the People's Daily, headlined its website with: "Chinese netizens jeer riot in U.S. Capitol as 'Karma,' say bubbles of 'democracy and freedom' have burst.", with the article saying that "words like 'Karma,' 'retribution' and 'deserving' were frequently mentioned in Chinese netizens' comments when they saw the latest episode of the U.S.' real version of House of Cards." [197]
The West Australian reported that "Newspapers around the world have reacted to the ugly scenes that marred Joe Biden's certification as the next US president", including "coverage from Canada, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, France and Brazil." [198]
Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo ran the headline: "inflated by Trump, crowd invades and vandalises Congress". Le Monde headlined its coverage of the attack with: "Trump provokes chaos in Washington as Biden is reinforced by a majority in the senate." Canadian newspaper the Ottawa Sun's front page was headlined: "Anarchy". British newspaper The Guardian ran the headline: "Chaos as pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol." Saudi Arabian newspaper Arab News and the Nigerian Tribune also dedicated their front pages to the attack. [198]
CNN paid tribute to several newspapers worldwide who ran images, headlines, and articles describing the attack on their front pages. [198] [199]
Russian state media reports criticized the United States government following the attack. [200] Chinese state media drew parallels between the attack and the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests and cast the incident as "karma" and "retribution" for the United States government supporting color revolutions around the world. [200] [201]
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Protests began in multiple cities in the United States following the 2020 United States presidential election between then-President Donald Trump and Democratic Party challenger Vice President Joe Biden, held on November 3, 2020. Biden won the election, receiving 81.3 million votes (51.3%) to Trump's 74.2 million (46.9%) and winning the Electoral College by 306 to 232. Biden's victory became clear on November 7, after the ballots had been tabulated. The Electoral College voted on December 14, in accordance with law, formalizing Biden's victory.
After Democratic nominee Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election, Republican nominee and then-incumbent president Donald Trump pursued an unprecedented effort to overturn the election, with support from his campaign, proxies, political allies, and many of his supporters. These efforts culminated in the January 6 Capitol attack by Trump supporters in an attempted self-coup d'état. Trump and his allies used the "big lie" propaganda technique to promote claims that had been proven false and conspiracy theories asserting the election was stolen by means of rigged voting machines, electoral fraud and an international conspiracy. Trump pressed Department of Justice leaders to challenge the results and publicly state the election was corrupt. However, the attorney general, director of National Intelligence, and director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency – as well as some Trump campaign staff – dismissed these claims. State and federal judges, election officials, and state governors also determined the claims were baseless.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-president Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup d'état, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep him in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election. Within 36 hours, five people died: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes, including a police officer who died of natural causes a day after being assaulted by rioters. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. Damage caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million.
Donald Trump, serving as the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the second time on January 13, 2021, one week before his term expired. On that date, the House of Representatives adopted one article of impeachment against Trump: incitement of insurrection. On February 13, 2021, the Senate voted to acquit Trump on the article of impeachment.
On January 6, 2021, Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during the attack on the United States Capitol. She was part of a crowd of supporters of then U.S. president Donald Trump who breached the United States Capitol building seeking to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
The following article is a broad timeline of the course of events surrounding the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, by rioters supporting United States President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. Pro-Trump rioters stormed the United States Capitol after assembling on the Ellipse of the Capitol complex for a rally headlined as the "Save America March".
Ali Alexander is an American far-right activist, social media personality, and conspiracy theorist. Alexander is an organizer of Stop the Steal, a campaign to promote the conspiracy theory that widespread voter fraud led to Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election. He also helped to organize one of several rallies that preceded the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, began on February 9, 2021, and concluded with his acquittal on February 13. Donald Trump had been impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives on January 13, 2021. The House adopted one article of impeachment against Trump: incitement of insurrection. He is the only U.S. president and only federal official to be impeached twice. He was impeached by the House seven days prior to the expiration of his term and the inauguration of Joe Biden. Because he left office before the trial, this was the first impeachment trial of a former president. The article of impeachment addressed Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and stated that Trump incited the attack on the Capitol in Washington, D.C., while Congress was convened to count the electoral votes and certify the victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
In the aftermath of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, after drawing widespread condemnation from the U.S. Congress, members of his administration, and the media, 45th U.S. President Donald Trump released a video-taped statement on January 7, reportedly to stop the resignations of his staff and the threats of impeachment or removal from office. In the statement, he condemned the violence at the U.S. Capitol, saying that "a new administration will be inaugurated", which was widely seen as a concession, and his "focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power" to the Joe Biden administration. Vanity Fair reported that Trump was at least partially convinced to make the statement by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who told Trump a sufficient number of Senate Republicans would support removing him from office unless he conceded. Kayleigh McEnany, the White House Press Secretary, had attempted to distance the administration from the rioters' behavior in a televised statement earlier in the day. On January 9, The New York Times reported that Trump had told White House aides he regretted committing to an orderly transition of power and would never resign from office. In a March 25 interview on Fox News, Trump defended the Capitol attackers, saying they were patriots who posed "zero threat", and he criticized law enforcement for "persecuting" the rioters.
The January 6 United States Capitol attack was followed by political, legal, and social repercussions. The second impeachment of Donald Trump, who was charged for incitement of insurrection for his conduct, occurred on January 13. At the same time, Cabinet officials were pressured to invoke the 25th Amendment for removing Trump from office. Trump was subsequently acquitted in the Senate trial, which was held in February after Trump had already left office. The result was a 57–43 vote in favor of conviction, with every Democrat and seven Republicans voting to convict, but two-thirds of the Senate are required to convict. Many in the Trump administration resigned. Several large companies announced they were halting all political donations, and others have suspended funding the lawmakers who had objected to certifying Electoral College results. A bill was introduced to form an independent commission, similar to the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the events surrounding the attack; it passed the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. The House then approved a House "select committee" to investigate the attack. In June, the Senate released the results of its own investigation of the attack. The event led to strong criticism of law enforcement agencies. Leading figures within the United States Capitol Police resigned. A large-scale criminal investigation was undertaken, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opening more than 1,200 case files. Federal law enforcement undertook a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators, with arrests and indictments following within days. Over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes.
The National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex, known colloquially as the January 6 commission, was an unsuccessful proposal to create a commission that would have investigated the January 6 United States Capitol attack. On February 15, 2021, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced that she planned to create a "9/11-type commission". The details were initially negotiated by Republican John Katko, and would have consisted of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. A bill forming the commission passed the House of Representatives on May 19, with all Democrats and 35 Republicans voting in support of it. However, it was blocked by Senate Republicans on May 28, with 54 Senators voting in favor and 35 voting against, failing to clear the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol building, disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Biden's victory in the 2020 United States presidential election.
Law enforcement mounted a response to the January 6 United States Capitol attack, initially failing to maintain security perimeters and protect parts of the building from being breached and occupied, but succeeding at protecting members of Congress, and subsequently, as reinforcements arrived, to secure the breached Capitol.
Many journalists compared the events of the 2023 Brazilian Congress attack to the 6 January United States Capitol attack almost exactly two years earlier. Several newspapers, including O Globo, Veja, and Folha de S.Paulo, characterised what happened as terrorism. O Estado de S. Paulo and El Mundo described the event as an attempted coup d'état. On 9 January, tens of thousands of people attended rallies against the rioters in many Brazilian cities. Supreme Federal Court considered the attacks as terrorist acts.
По его мнению, произошедшие в Вашингтоне беспорядки "поставили под вопрос дальнейшую судьбу США как государства".[In Gorbachev's opinion, the riots that took place in Washington "called into question the future fate of the United States as a nation".]