January 6 will go down in the history of United States , but not for the right reasons. However, it was not originally to be marked by what is usually only a formality: the confirmation by Congress of the victory of the future American president, elected in November.
But Donald Trump , braced on the challenge of his defeat against Joe Biden, and the thousands of his supporters who came to Washington to support him, derailed the process. Violence broke out within the Capitol wall itself, causing the federal capital to be placed under curfew.
To fully understand how an old democracy like the United States could come to this , we must resume the thread of the day. Wednesday morning, tens of thousands of supporters of the Republican president, armed with Trump flags 310 and wearing red caps “ Make America Great Again “, start to flock to Washington. They converge on an esplanade near the White House, to hear Donald Trump’s speech. The climate is tense because since the November elections, the president has continued to heat them up by refusing to concede defeat.
It was around noon that their “hero »Goes on stage. Donald Trump then delivers a long, very virulent speech. “We will never give up. We will never concede, ”he says. “We will never take back our country by being weak. (…) You must be strong ”. And it was then that he chose to utter words which a few hours later would transform the already tense situation into chaos: “I know that everyone here will soon be walking towards the Capitol, to peacefully, patriotically bring your voices in”. Of course, the word “peacefully” came out of the president’s mouth, but it is above all the rest of the sentence that his supporters will retain.
“After that, we will walk, and I will be by your side, at the Capitol You will never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength. ”It is in particular for these sentences that Donald Trump is accused of having“ incited ”to violence # capitol pic.twitter.com/ gWbUTusMK1
– Philippe Berry (@ptiberry)
January 7, 2021
Inside the Capitol, towards hours, the parliamentarians of the two chambers then begin the procedure for certifying the results of the election.Just before the start of the meeting, Vice-President Mike Pence declares in a letter that he will not oppose it, this right going to his elected officials. But right from the start of the session, Republicans raised objections to the results of the election in the state of Arizona . In accordance with an ultra-codified process, the two chambers are separate to debate.
And that’s when everything goes wrong. Pro-Trump protesters then flock to the Capitol. Annex buildings are evacuated while some force the roadblocks of the police. The session was interrupted and the two rooms were placed in confinement.
Four dead
Chaos sets in: tear gas is fired in the Capitol rotunda, the police draw their weapons. Staggering images of demonstrators in the corridors of Congress, posing in the gallery of the lower house or in the office of its president,
Nancy Pelosi , circulate everywhere. A woman is shot and wounded in the Capitol, with police later announcing that she is dead. In total, there will be four deaths, the other three deaths are however noted outside the building. The mayor of Washington even orders a curfew for 13 hours, and the National Guard is called in.
In an attempt to put out the fire he himself had started, Donald Trump tweets several times to call for calm. He even finally asks his supporters to return home, in a video where he declares to them at the same time “to love” them. But that does not prevent him from continuing to insist that the election has been “stolen” from him. The video will eventually be taken down by Twitter and Facebook shortly thereafter. To answer him, in a brief speech from his stronghold of Wilmington, Delaware, Joe Biden denounces an “insurrection”. Elected officials speak of an attempted “coup”.
After the curfew came into effect, the demonstrators still there were dispersed by the police. To 18 h 30, a manager announces that the Capitol is secure again. The police made 30 arrests and found two homemade bombs. Shortly after 18, the parliamentary session resumed with a view to Joe Biden’s victory certification.