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Jan 14, 20217 min read

What are the implications of the events of the capitol riots?

By: Ford McCracken

January 6, 2021 Series: Part 2


January 6, 2021, began as a normal Wednesday. The Georgia Runoff Elections were finally being wrapped up, and Democrats looked like they were set to win the Senate majority. Congress was set to certify President-Elect Joe Biden’s win in the electoral college, with some notable objections from 12 Republican senators and over 100 Republicans in the House. In fact, those proceedings began as planned, with Vice President Mike Pence beginning the vote to certify electoral votes in all 50 states. Alabama and Alaska’s votes were certified smoothly, but when Arizona began, the first objection occurred from a member of the House of Representatives. Things began to escalate quickly at that point.


Objections from representatives have unfortunately become very common. But for those objections to officially be recognized, a member of the Senate must sign the objection, and that’s exactly what happened. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) signed the objection and the House and the Senate officially split into their two separate chambers to begin the two-hour debate over the electoral votes. Things still appeared to be running smoothly, and this objection to Arizona was not expected to go anywhere. Republican Senators planned on signing House Republicans’ objections to 6 states, all won by Joe Biden: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. But they never got that far. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave a passionate speech about why Congress should vote to certify the electoral votes from Arizona, and from all of the other states as well. This speech was followed by speeches from other senators as well, but their speeches were cut short by the Secret Service dashing into the Senate Chamber to escort VP Mike Pence to safety.


During the joint session of Congress, President Trump had led a large crowd of his supporters, protesting the election results, to the Capitol building. But the “protests” quickly turned to riots, with his supporters breaking past the barrier set up by U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) and running onto the steps of the capitol. They didn’t stay on the steps for long, however, with the mob smashing windows and running into the Capitol. Once the protesters broke in, the Senate and House were immediately evacuated to an undisclosed secure location to seek safety. All the while, rioters were breaking into the Senate Chamber, into congressional offices, and all around the Capitol, stealing and destroying property left and right. Rioters were armed with knives, guns, and other weapons that they attempted to use against Capitol Police Officers. Multiple people died after getting into altercations with the USCP. This was the first time the Capitol has been breached since 1814.


With all of the chaos created by these shocking and horrifying events, it has left our country with a series of decisions to make. It also has left us with several questions about how one of the most secure buildings in the country could have been breached by rioters so easily. The following outlines a series of questions that help explain what comes next after a day such as this one in American history.


How did the mob breach the Capitol?

This mob attack on the Capitol was planned, publicized, and actively encouraged by the President of the United States. So if this was premeditated, why wasn’t there heightened security? While that question is not immediately answerable, many new details about the interactions between USCP and rioters have come to light since the attacks. Some videos depict USCP forces almost “letting in” the rioters. While this claim has been defended by the police, saying that they were understaffed and overwhelmed by the mob, it does not explain why there were not more people there to protect the Capitol in the first place.


But some other shocking allegations have been presented as well. Reports of a Capitol police officer posing for a selfie with a protester have circulated around the news. The growing distrust surrounding one of the most well-funded and well-equipped forces in the country has led to calls for a major investigation into this security failure. There is no reason a post 9/11 Washington, D.C. should be attacked so easily.


Why were so few arrests made?

Only around 13 people had been arrested by USCP by the afternoon of the attacks, which is a relatively minuscule number of people compared to the great number of protesters present. While more arrests have been made since the attacks, and the FBI has launched a thorough investigation into the people involved, it still seems like a small amount for such a major attack. Luckily, the people who led this mob demonstration did not take any steps to conceal their identities, including not wearing face masks (even during a global pandemic). Expect several more arrests to come in the coming days, as the FBI has stated that every branch of their department, nationwide, is investigating the people involved and will make certain that they are held accountable.


Who is being held responsible?

This depends on who you ask. Democrats have relentlessly blamed President Trump and other congressional Republicans for instigating and inciting the violence. They are not alone, however, as quite a few congressional Republicans have also handed blame to the President. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), as well as Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash). Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) even called the President’s actions an ‘impeachable offense’. Several Democrats are also calling for the resignation of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who were the top Senate Republicans involved with the objections to the electoral college results. However many congressional Republicans have been quick to defend the President and themselves, including Hawley and Cruz.


How is this being investigated?

The FBI is investigating and continuing to arrest many of the people who were part of the riots. As far as an investigation into the USCP and the security delays are concerned, House Democrats have said they will be thoroughly investigating allegations that some Capitol Police officers were aiding the rioters. The U.S. attorney’s office in DC has also said that they will be investigating the murder of a Capitol Police officer that died, Brian D. Sicknick. Sicknick has been serving with Capitol Police since 2008 and died of injuries after a direct clash with protesters in a valiant attempt to defend the Capitol.


What, so far, have been the consequences?

There have already been several consequences to the actions of those involved. At this point, almost 100 arrests have been made in several states as the FBI continues to track down those involved in the attacks. In terms of consequences for DC officials, the chief of USCP has resigned, as well as several White House officials. The President is facing serious threats of impeachment from both sides of the aisle, and House Democrats have already begun their impeachment inquiry. The other alternative to impeachment is if Vice President Pence and Trump’s cabinet invokes the 25th amendment, which deems the president unfit to serve and removes him from office. This option seems unlikely since Trump’s cabinet is full of his most loyal allies. Either way, time is running out to remove the President with less than 2 weeks until Biden takes office.


In terms of non-legal consequences, Trump has also been permanently banned from Twitter. The popular social media app that many Republicans have switched over to avoid regulations from Twitter and other big companies, Parler, has also now been banned by Google and Apple from their content stores.



What is the next step for the Republican Party? Is Trumpism the future?

The Republican Party has to make some crucial decisions. The path forward isn’t easy. The last electorally successful Republican before Trump was Bush, and he still only won the popular vote the second time he ran. The same issue has been present in the Republican party for a long time—they aren’t supported by the majority of Americans. The Republicans have lost the popular vote in 7 out of the last 8 elections, despite winning the presidency 3 times. McCain and Romney both are seen today as moderate Republicans, despite still being pretty conservative themselves. The identity crisis for the Republicans was supposed to be in 2016, and their solution was Trumpism. Since Trump won the election, it appeared at first to be a success, but at what cost?


Trump’s political ideology is right-wing populism, which was a tactic first explored by Sarah Palin in the 2008 general election. Palin began energizing a base of the Republican Party that usually goes ignored: working-class white voters. But tapping into this base can be seen as opening Pandora’s Box for Republicans; when you tap into that base what often follows can resemble what we currently see under Trump, with the group of people that refuse to believe that Joe Biden won the election. Palin was shut down by McCain and the Republican establishment, which prevented her from fully opening Pandora’s Box, but Trump was very unafraid to stray down this path, and he ended up being successful. But of course, the goal of populism is not to win over a wide variety of voters, it’s to turn out your base in such high numbers that it makes it impossible for the other side to win. There’s a reason that Trump lost in 2020: his base is not the majority.


The conclusion the Republican Party should take from this is that Trumpism was not successful electorally. Just because it won them the presidency once and made Biden’s victory in 2020 far narrower does not make it a success. But it was an experiment, and it was probably the last time something of the sorts will work. Whites are projected to be in the minority in the US by 2045, according to the U.S. Census. That means Republicans will have to expand their base in order to win future national elections, and they don’t appear to be on that track. Trumpism is likely the reason that Republicans lost two Senate seats in Georgia in the same election, a state that turned blue for the first time in 2020. That should not have happened, and it is a clear reflection that what is needed to save the Republican Party is not just an identity crisis: it is a complete overhaul.



The events of January 6th will be remembered for a long time, and their implications will certainly have lasting effects on our democracy. The way the Republican Party continues to proceed will have direct electoral consequences, and the same could be said about the Democratic Party if they do end up choosing to go ahead with impeachment. Leaders on both sides must come together to attempt to provide a resolution to this crisis we are in. Overall, the important thing to remember is that our country will come back from this, we always do.



Discussion Questions

  • Could Republican Senators such as Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) leave the party?

  • Are there enough Republican votes to impeach Trump?

  • Will Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz still consider a 2024 presidential run even after these events?



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