The year is 2021. The day is January 6th. It was a beautiful, crisp Wednesday morning, the trees were standing tall and proud, and the leaves were flying freely. But the air was buzzing with electricity, like a calm before the storm… The clock strikes 12. The location was the ellipse near the White House when, suddenly, Trump started his “Save America” rally. Trump gave a one-hour and ten-minute speech. During this speech, the air stood still, not daring to move; a storm was looming, and the authorities were none the wiser.
Trump stood proudly as he gazed upon the crowd of ten thousand people who showed up for the rally. Throughout the speech, Trump manipulated the crowd like a master. Trump encouraged his followers to march on the Capitol building, saying, “Fight like hell” and to pressure the vice president to overturn the election, saying, ““if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election.” Trump finished his speech at 1:10 pm. The storm was brewing, and the authorities finally took notice. Trump ended his speech saying, “We fight. We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore!” The capital shook under the words Trump said, and this is when it truly started, the riot America will never forget…
The time was 10:30 am when “Proud Boys” began to march towards the Capitol building, separate from the rally. The time is now 12:30 pm, when crowds from the rally begin to converge with the “Proud Boys” outside the Capitol building. Time seemed to move so slowly that it was barely moving at all. Only 19 minutes later, Capitol police converged on the RNC building, where they found a pipe bomb. Suddenly at 12:53 pm, the first police perimeter on the west of the Capitol building was breached! An unforeseen event, the Capitol police were quickly overwhelmed. The storm is starting, and it’s much worse than what was predicted.
The time is 1 pm inside the Capitol building, where the joint congress, along with Vice President Mike Pence presiding, finally meets inside the Capitol building to certify the electoral results. Trump finishes his speech at 1:11 pm, saying, “We’re going to the Capitol.” The Capitol police are overwhelmed with the crowds already, but they feel the ground shake as the rest of the crowds from the rally finally converge on the Capitol building. The already overwhelming crowd just became a lot more overwhelming, and the already underprepared Capitol police are overwhelmed on the Capitol building steps.
The time is 1:49 pm when the Capitol police chief finally calls the commanding general of the National Guard for immediate reinforcements. The time is 2 pm when the police barricades are breached on the west of the capital building, shortly after a massive mob reaches the entrance and begins to smash the windows and try to break down the door to get into the building. The Capitol building is breached as rioters start to flood in, 3 minutes later, the Senate is called into recess and is evacuated from the chamber. 7 minutes later, the House of Representatives is also called into recess and begins evacuation efforts as rioters force their way deeper and deeper into the building.
During all this, officials are in their offices, hiding under desks with gas masks and genuinely afraid for their lives and safety as tear gas and smoke are thrown into the building. At 2:24 p.m., Trump tweets about Vice President Mike Pence lacking courage. This adds more fuel for the rioters, making their morale higher than ever. At this point, it’s not a riot but an attack on the country. The rioters at this point were also chanting for Pence. Minutes after the clock struck three, rioters broke into the Senate chambers. And at around 3:15 pm, a woman, Ashli Babbitt, is shot and killed by a Capitol police officer while attempting to climb through a window into the Speaker’s lobby.
It takes another hour for Trump to finally post a video saying that he loves them all, but they need to “go home in peace” at 6 pm Police begin to clear the Capitol, and a citywide curfew takes effect. The storm was finally over, but at what cost… This was a tragedy… Something America will never forget…
The aftermath is immense: more than 1575 people were charged, and 1100 were convicted for various crimes. Some were charged for a few days in jail, while others got 20 years. [Editor’s note: Trump pardoned the vast majority of those charged and/or convicted.] The officer who shot Ashli Babbitt, who was later identified as Lieutenant Michael Byrd, received extensive death threats. Lieutenant Michael Byrd was not charged, and his actions were labeled as lawful since he was acting in self-defense and the protection of Congress. The Babbitt family later sued, saying it was unlawful and unjustified, and settled with the government.
In conclusion, this was a dark day for America. This riot shows us what people are capable of – attacking the Capitol of the United States because Trump did not win the election. This whole thing was disgusting and terrible. Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea and that we should do this? If you love your country, why would you attack the Capitol? The people who said they were “patriots” were nothing more than phonies, terrorists and traitors to the country disguised as “patriots” who bleed red, white, and blue.
