The images of the assault on the United States Capitol building on Wednesday surprised the world, even those who speculated that the departure of President Donald Trump would not be without obstacles.
Although a handful of Republicans even said they were proud of what happened and for having been part of the protest, their vision represents only that of a minority.
The BBC spoke with both Democrats and Republicans to obtain the opinion on the facts of ordinary citizens.
These are some of their testimonies.
Simon grew up or in Uganda during the civil war and became a US citizen last year. AND Master’s student and parent , Simon cautions that while things can calm down, “democracy is not guaranteed.”
I am outraged but not surprised. I anticipated that this would happen and that it was a question of when, not if it was going to happen or not.
I didn’t think it would happen in the capital. This is the president whose people – from the racial justice movement in the summer – said he was in favor of “law and order.”
So the “law” people and order ”stormed the Capitol and exchanged the American flag for the Trump flag.
History shows that this has not happened in more than 200 years, and that tells you how dangerous this man is.
In Uganda In November, when the opposition was arrested, people took to the streets and shot them. Here, in the summer, the Capitol building was protected and peaceful protests broke up.
Why the assault on the Capitol does not become a conventional coup but brings the United States closer . to the violence of fragile democracies It is clear that (Trump supporters) have been organizing, we saw that this was going to happen, but, subconsciously, we did not think that white people could be a threat.
That is the way of thinking of our country and how law enforcement saw it.
Taylor is a staunch Trump supporter and recently traveled to Washington DC for a pro-Trump rally after the elections. Fot ographer by profession, Taylor est Disgusted by the unrest, but believes unsubstantiated claims that left-wing radicals were behind the violence.
It was heartbreaking to see what was happening and the behavior of the protesters is not like that of the Trump people that I I’ve been.
If (these acts of violence) came from a conservative, then I condemn them. There is no excuse for violence.
This does not change my support for Trump. People who love Trump are not going to change, regardless of whether or not they get a second term.
It just means we’re going to hold out until 2024 and we hope that he will introduce himself again or that his children will.
Our country is going to go downhill in the next four years if Biden takes office. In fact I am moving from the city to the suburbs of a Republican county today because I am afraid that the Democratic counties will end up under the presidency of Biden.
“One of the darkest days in US history”: condemnation of congressmen for the assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters We are going to catapult ourselves towards socialism and communism. I am worried about the future of the country, but regardless of who takes office, we have a lot to heal.
I hope we can all find our common humanity and embrace each other when this is all over, which I hope is soon.
A’Kayla and She is a college student who supports the Black Lives Matter movement. Seg to her, the forces of order “ consented ”to the violent protesters on the Capitol . That is why he wants a police reform to be carried out, because he says that the police ía was a lot m á is aggressive in protests to which she attended.
It’s so irritating that I can’t put into words how frustrating it is. They broke into the Capitol and the police were kind and relaxed with them.
I expected the police to use force, but they were very kind and gentle. During the summer when the Black Lives Matter protests were taking place, many people were injured, locked up and lost their lives.
From my own experience, marching peacefully on the front line In Charleston, they tear gassed us and we had to put milk in our eyes. It was terrible. And for what? We marched for a cause, because the police killed someone. Why are (these protesters) upset? They are upset that we live in a democracy and they didn’t get away with it.
During one of the debates, when Trump said “back off and wait”, was that what he was talking about? This is the calm before the storm. I think it will get a lot uglier, but Kamala (Harris) and Joe (Biden) are a symbol of change and hope.
Like it or not (Trump supporters) , America is moving closer to being a more progressive country and there will be many changes.
James is a lifelong Republican who worked on Capitol Hill for the party for nearly two decades, but cast his first vote for a Democrat in the elections of 2020. I know that was stunned with the events of January 6 and expects these become n on a bad footnote in the country’s history.
I find it absolutely shocking. I didn’t think it would come to this.
In fact, I had thought about going to the protests with a sign that read “Republicans against Trump.” My brother told me that if I had done that there would have been six dead, not five, and he could have been right.
I am amazed at the stupidity of these people who show up without masks who are being filmed. Many of them are going to prison. It is a serious situation when you go through a police barricade and enter a building that is supposed to be safe.
Visual guide to the invasion of Congress from the US by Trump supporters I have many friends who say things can’t get worse, but I have to remind them, like History student, who has been worse.
The Civil War was much worse. There was a lot of violence in the south during the reconstruction period. This is something the country will overcome.
I was encouraged by President-elect Biden’s speech yesterday. We finally have someone who sounds presidential. We haven’t had it in the last four years.
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