As Congress begins the public portion of the hearings regarding the insurrection on January 6, 2021, let’s take a look back to remember what happened and how people reacted in the immediate aftermath of the attempted overthrow of the free and fair Presidential election.

Following his loss in the November 2020 election, Trump continuously repeated the lie that the election was “stolen” from him; he held a rally that day that repeated this lie, and he encouraged spectators at his rally to go to the Capitol. To this day, Trump repeats the lie that the election was “stolen” from him, even after losing dozens of court challenges and providing no evidence of fraud that changed the outcome of the election.

On January 6, 2021, a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. Lawmakers were evacuated from the building out of fear for their safety. Five people died on that day or in the immediate aftermath, and 140 police officers were assaulted. Congressional Democrats and some Republicans accused then-President Trump of inciting a coup.

Trump, hours after the start of the riot/insurrection, eventually released a one-minute taped statement telling his supporters to “go home now,” but he repeated the lie that the presidential election was “fraudulent.” He tweeted, “I know your pain, I know your hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election, and everyone knows it — especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order, we have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt.”

After Congress people returned to certify the election, 8 Republican senators and 139 Republican representatives voted to sustain objections to the certification of the vote, even though there is/was no evidence to support claims of fraud.

Trump was roundly condemned by all Democrats, and here is what some Republicans said on or right after January 6, 2021:

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.): “Former President Trump’s actions preceding the riot were a disgraceful dereliction of duty. There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “As to yesterday, it breaks my heart, that my friend, a President of a consequence, were to allow yesterday to happen. And it will be a major part of his presidency. It was a self-inflicted wound. It was going too far.

Sen. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.): “We just had a violent mob assault the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to prevent us from carrying out our constitutional duty. There’s no question the president formed the mob, the president incited the mob, the president addressed the mob. He lit the flame.”

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah): The day’s events were the result of a “selfish man’s injured pride and the outrage of his supporters whom he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning. What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States.”

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) called it a “coup attempt,” and tweeted at Trump, “You are not protecting the country. Where is the DC guard? You are done and your legacy will be a disaster.”

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said the Capitol “was ransacked while the leader of the free world cowered behind his keyboard — tweeting against his vice president for fulfilling the duties of his oath to the Constitution.”

The Select Committee running the January 6^th Hearings intends to draw connections between Trump, some Republicans, and rioters at the Capitol. Meanwhile, Trump continues to lie about the 2020 Presidential election.