What began as a demonstration against the recent presidential election results turned into a violent attack at the Capitol building, with hundreds of supporters of President Trump breaching security and occupying the federal building for hours. Weeks of unsupported claims of election fraud and attempts to overturn the results by President Trump culminated in an angry mob of supporters quickly overrunning security to try and stop the certification of electoral votes, which would confirm Joe Biden as the next president. Once the breach began, the Senate and House Representative chambers were evacuated, and all buildings in the Capitol complex were put on lockdown.
Authorities safely detonated two explosive devices that had been found at both the Republican National Committee offices and the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Authorities also arrested a man for possession of an unregistered gun, as well as having a cooler full of Molotov cocktails in his vehicle.
By definition, the FBI defines domestic terrorism as “Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.” As of January 8, 2020, there has been no official statement calling the riots an act of domestic terrorism from the FBI, though President-elect Biden has stated that the mob was “insurrections, domestic terrorists” (Business Insider)
Date of event: January 6, 2021
Impact:
- 2 direct fatalities, 3 indirect; >50 Capitol and metropolitan police officers injured
- 13 people arrested for unlawful entry of the Capitol complex (CNN)
- D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department released a list of suspects and the crimes they are arrested on suspicion of. The charges include (6ABCNews):
- 63 instances of curfew violation (The city ordered a 6 p.m. curfew when chaos broke out.)
- 25 instances of unlawful entry
- One instance of crossing a police line
- Four instances of carrying a pistol without a license
- One person arrested on suspicion of defacing public property and assaulting a police officer
Related Resources:
- Federal Criminal Laws Applicable to Rioting, Property Destruction, and Related Conduct [June 11, 2020]
- Oversight of the United States Capitol Police: Hearing Before the Committee on House Administration, House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, First Session, July 16, 2019
- War Comes Home: ‘The Evolution of Domestic Terrorism in the United States’
- Need for a Specific Law Against Domestic Terrorism
- Countering Domestic Terrorism: Examining the Evolving Threat, Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, First Session, September 25, 2019
- Look at Facebook and US 2020 Elections
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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana-Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.