Protests at the U.S. Capitol

photo by Tasos Katopodis

In response to the counting of electoral votes today, January 6, protesters in support of President Donald Trump assembled and stormed the US Capitol. The House was evacuated before the formal announcement of president-elect Joe Biden’s win. 

Amidst the chaos, one woman was shot by a protester. President Trump responded to the riots, saying “But you have to go home now, we have to have peace, we have to have law and order.” However, in the statement he reinforces that this election was “fraudulent,” and encourages the idea that began the uprise—this year being a “stolen election.”

These events unfolded after Georgia, a reliably red state, voted Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to represent this southern state as their Senators. 

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently released a statement claiming “Today, a shameful assault was made on our democracy. It was anointed at the highest level of government. It cannot, however, deter us from our responsibility to validate the election of Joe Biden,” according to speaker.gov. The Senate members plan to reconvene tonight to “validate the election of Joe Biden.”