On Jan. 6, 2021, only 14 days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to interfere with the election results. While Capitol members were evacuated to safety, the raiders marched, destroying property and looting the Capitol. As security attempted to keep the raiders out, they pushed their way in by breaking windows; during this looters filmed the chaos. 

One specific photo shown to the public, shows a Trump supporter inside Speaker of The House Nancy Pelosi’s office with his feet up on her desk. Another photo during the raid shows a man stealing a Capitol podium. In both of the photos mentioned, neither looter appears to be wearing a mask. 

As chaos in the Capitol ensued, Donald Trump released a video on Twitter in which he once again claimed the election to be a fraud. Trump also responded to the protestors, calling them “special” and “loved”. The video was immediately taken down. As the rioting in the Capital calmed down, it ended with five people dead. One woman that took part in the looting was shot, another person who passed away because of the raid was a Capitol officer. The other three died due to medical emergencies.

Starting Jan. 6, social media began to limit content created by both Trump and his supporters- everywhere from posts that supported the raiders to Trump-themed merchandise. According to the Washington Post, the bans vary from temporary suspensions to permanent bans. This has brought up a discussion as to the impact of first amendment rights in accordance with the private company decisions. 

In the meantime, top security officials from the Capitol resigned after the raiders managed to access the epicenter of legislation for American Federal government. The resignitions began to occur Jan. 7, and as of Jan. 21 have not yet been replaced. Additionally, fences that had been put up towards the end of the attack on the Capitol remained in place to prevent any further damage through the inauguration. 

Jan. 7 also brought the beginning of arrests made of any individual suspected of being involved in the attack. So far, the FBI have presumably identified and charged 113 individuals. In all of the controversy circling President Trump, Jan. 13 brought about his second impeachment, although the subsequent trial has yet to progress due to the recent inauguration drawing political attention.