Ahead of the January 6 United States Capitol attack, there were widespread predictions of violence. Trump supporters, their opponents, media figures, and law enforcement all warned of upcoming violence. In 2023, a Senate report would conclude the attack was "planned in plain sight". [1] Researchers predicted the violence was likely to occur if the elections were close and if Trump could not ensure that his supporters would commit fraud on his behalf. [2] [3]
In 2019, Kara Swisher, a columnist for The New York Times , envisioned what would happen "if Mr. Trump loses the 2020 election and tweets inaccurately the next day that there had been widespread fraud and, moreover, that people should rise up in armed insurrection to keep him in office". [4] In early September 2020, YouTuber and political commentator Tim Pool said in a recorded conversation that "I've had messages from people saying that they've already got plans to rush to D.C. as soon as Nov. 3 goes chaotic", and that, "The right-wing militias, the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, and just the Proud Boys and Trump supporters, they are going to rush full-speed to D.C. They are going to take the White House and do whatever they can and paramilitary." [5] On December 1, 2020, a Georgia election official publicly warned, "Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone's going to get hurt. Someone's going to get shot. Someone's going to get killed." [4]
For several weeks before the event, there were over one million mentions of storming the Capitol on social media, including calls for violence against Congress, Pence, and police. This was done on "alt-tech" platforms [lower-alpha 1] such as news aggregator website Patriots.win, [lower-alpha 2] chat app Telegram and Twitter-like microblogging websites Gab and Parler, [lower-alpha 3] as well as on mainstream social media platforms, such as TikTok. [8] Many of the posters planned for violence before the event; some discussed how to avoid police on the streets, which tools to bring to help pry open doors, and how to smuggle weapons into the city. [7] They discussed their perceived need to attack the police. [6] [9] [10] Following clashes with Washington, D.C., police during protests on December 12, 2020, the Proud Boys and other far-right groups turned against supporting law enforcement. [11]
On December 21, 2020, a viral tweet predicted, "On January 6, armed Trumpist militias will be rallying in D.C., at Trump's orders. It's highly likely that they'll try to storm the Capitol after it certifies Joe Biden's win." [4]
On December 28, 2020, a map was posted showing entrances and exits to the Capitol and the tunnels that connect it to nearby House and Senate office buildings. Perimeters were drawn in red, orange, and yellow designed to reflect their relative importance while black X's represented forces that are 'ready for action' if Congress tries to certify the 2020 Presidential election. [12] On January 1, the operator of an obscure website about tunnels under Capitol noticed a huge spike in traffic to the site, prompting him to notify the FBI of a likely upcoming attack on the building. [13]
On December 29, 2020, D.C.'s Hotel Harrington, a past gathering spot for Proud Boys, announced closure from January 4–6, citing public safety. Harry's Pub, another Proud Boys hotspot, similarly announced a temporary closure. [14]
On December 30, 2020, former Pence aide Olivia Troye publicly expressed fears "that violence could erupt in Washington, D.C., on January 6". [15] That same day, one popular comment was posted, saying, "I'm thinking it will be literal war on that day. Where we'll storm offices and physically remove and even kill all the D.C. traitors and reclaim the country." [4] That comment was highlighted in a January 2 article by The Daily Beast which reported protesters were discussing bringing guns to the District, breaking into federal buildings, and attacking law enforcement. [4] [16]
Multiple sites graphically and explicitly discussed "war", physically taking charge at the event, and killing politicians, even soliciting opinions about which politician should be hanged first, with a GIF of a noose. [6] Joan Donovan, research director at Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, said that key figures in the Unite the Right rally and the Gamergate online harassment campaign worked to raise online fury ahead of the attack. [17] Facebook and Twitter have also been cited as playing a role in the fomenting of the Capitol attack. [18]
A January 2 article by The Daily Beast reported protesters were discussing bringing guns to the District, breaking into federal buildings, and attacking law enforcement. [4] The article quoted one popular comment "I'm thinking it will be literal war on that day. Where we'll storm offices and physically remove and even kill all the D.C. traitors and reclaim the country." [4] [16]
On January 5, media published stories about widespread predictions of violence, and D.C. Mayor Bowser called for residents to avoid the downtown area where protesters would march. [19] That day, members of Congress reached out to law enforcement charge with protecting the Capitol against possible upcoming violence and were assured Capitol Police were prepared. [20]
In the days leading up to the attack, several organizations monitoring online extremism had been issuing warnings about the event. [21] On December 20, 2020, the FBI received a tip warning that the Proud Boys planned to be in DC and were planning "to literally kill people." [22] In an internal report dated December 29, 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Minneapolis field office warned of armed protests at every state capitol, orchestrated by the far-right boogaloo movement, before Biden's inauguration. [23] By January 3, the FBI was aware of social media posts calling for an armed encampment on the mall and for the storming of the Capitol on January 6. [22]
On January 5, the Norfolk field office of the FBI reported plans of violence: "An online thread discussed specific calls for violence to include stating 'Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa[ sic ] slave soldiers being spilled. Get violent. Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.'" The Norfolk report noted that planners shared a map of the tunnels underneath the Capitol. [24] Another comment, cited in the FBI memo, advocated for Trump supporters going to Washington "to get violent to stop this, especially the antifa maggots who are sure to come out en masse even if we get the Prez for 4 more years". [25]
Before January 6, the FBI notified the local Joint Terrorism Task Force of possible impending violence at the Capitol. [26] The Washington Post reported an internal FBI document on January 5 warned of rioters preparing to travel to Washington and setting up staging areas in various regional states. [27] The FBI did not distribute a formal intelligence bulletin. [26] [28] Some security specialists later reported they had been surprised that they had not received information from the FBI and DHS before the event. [29]
Robert Contee, the acting Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, said after the event that his department had possessed no intelligence indicating the Capitol would be breached. Capitol Police chief Steven Sund said his department had developed a plan to respond to "First Amendment activities", but had not planned for the "criminal riotous behavior" they encountered. [30] Three days before the Capitol attack, the Capitol Police intelligence unit had circulated an internal memo warning that Trump supporters "see January 6, 2021, as the last opportunity to overturn the results of the presidential election" and could use violence against "Congress itself" on that date. [31] Sund said he directed the department to be placed on "all hands on deck" status (contrary to early reports), [32] which meant every sworn officer would be working. He also said he activated seven Civil Disturbance Unit platoons, approximately 250 officers, with four of those platoons equipped in helmets, protective clothing, and shields. [33] U.S. Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy said law enforcement agencies' estimates of the potential size of the crowd, calculated in advance of the event, varied between 2,000 and 80,000. [34] On January 5, the National Park Service estimated that thirty thousand people would attend the "Save America" rally, based on people already in the area. [35]
Other organizations, such as the Anti-Defamation League, British security firm G4S, and nonpartisan governance watchdog Advance Democracy, Inc., studied QAnon posts and made various warnings of the potential of violence on January 6. [21] [36] [37]
The Proud Boys is an exclusively male North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence. The group's leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the United States government, including the constitutionally prescribed transfer of presidential power. It has been called a street gang and was designated as a terrorist group in Canada and New Zealand. The Proud Boys are known for their opposition to left-wing and progressive groups and for their support of former U.S. President Donald Trump. While Proud Boys leadership has denied being a white supremacist organization, the group and some of its members have been connected to white supremacist events, ideologies, and other white power groups throughout its existence.
Patriot Prayer is a US far-right group founded by Joey Gibson in 2016 and based in Vancouver, Washington, a suburban city in the Portland metropolitan area. Since 2016, the group has organized several dozen pro-gun, pro-Trump rallies held in cities in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. Often met with large numbers of counter-protesters, attendees have repeatedly clashed with left-wing groups in the Portland area. Far-right groups, such as the Proud Boys, have attended the rallies organized by Patriot Prayer, as well as white nationalists, sparking controversy and violence.
Henry "Enrique" Tarrio is an American convicted seditionist and far-right activist. From 2018 to 2021, he was the chairman of the Proud Boys, a far-right neo-fascist organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States. Along with three other Proud Boys leaders, Tarrio was convicted in May 2023 of seditious conspiracy for his role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. In September 2023, Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Joseph Randall Biggs is an American veteran, media personality, organizer of the Proud Boys, and convicted felon for his participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
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.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by occupying the Capitol and preventing a joint session of Congress 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. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. Damages caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million.
On January 6, 2021, Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during an 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.
John Earle Sullivan, also known as Activist John, is an American political activist and self-identified photojournalist who participated in the January 6, 2021 United States Capitol attack. In November 2023, he was convicted by a jury of felony obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, and five misdemeanors.
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.
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 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.
Supporters of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, held small-scale armed protests and demonstrations at U.S. state capitols in the five days leading up to the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, in opposition to the results of the 2020 United States presidential election, which continued after the failure of the violent January 6 attempt to overturn the election in Trump's favor. Pro-Trump groups failed to stage organized dissent or affect the transition of power in an environment of deterrence and heightened security.
Ethan Nordean, also known as Rufio Panman, is an American far-right political activist, convicted felon and a leader of the Proud Boys, an all-male neo-fascist organization that engages in political violence.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of then President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building, disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 United States Presidential Election. By the end of the month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had opened more than 400 case files and issued more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants related to the riot. The FBI also created a website to solicit tips from the public specifically related to the riot and were especially assisted by the crowdsourced sleuthing group Sedition Hunters. By the end of 2021, 725 people had been charged with federal crimes. That number rose to 1,000 by the second anniversary of the attack, and to 1,200 by the third anniversary, at which point over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes. These federal cases are handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (D.C.). State cases, of which there are fewer, are handled in the D.C. Superior Court.
Since its foundation in 2016, members of the Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization, have been involved in a number controversial and violent events. This list contains a number of those events, some of which have resulted in criminal charges being filed against participants.
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.
The Justice for J6 rally was a right-wing demonstration in Washington, D.C., in support of hundreds of people who were arrested and charged following the January 6 United States Capitol attack. It occurred on September 18, 2021. The event attracted 100–200 activists. It was organized by a former Trump campaign staffer. The event was noted for extensive security preparations and concerns over possible unrest.
After Donald Trump lost the 2020 United States presidential election, multiple individuals plotted to use force to stop the peaceful transition of power; this was one aspect of what eventually led to the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol. Fourteen members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys militias were convicted of seditious conspiracy for planning and leading the attack, while an unidentified pipe-bomber remains at-large.
As an expert in online extremism and disinformation campaigns, she watched as ... key figures in Gamergate and Charlottesville stoked online fury ahead of the attempted coup.