A Vulnerable Capitol Building Caused Panic Among Americans Near and Far

A riot is described by Merriam Webster as a violent public disorder. A sea of red, Make America Great Again hats were seen chanting, swarming, and screaming outside of the Capitol Building engaging in violent public disorder. Nooses, weapons, and offensive language were present on Jan. 6, 2021, threatening our country, its representatives and the citizens.

Many Trump-Supporting-Americans seized the Capitol Building out of anger and unrest in the change of Presidency that was to take place. In a video posted by New York Times Journalist, Luke Mogelson, angry Americans are seen storming inside the Capitol Building, disrespecting the privacy of senators including the Vice President, and completely damaging “the most sacredest place”, as a police officer described the Senate Chamber while he observed some of the angry citizens disrespect the area.

As an upset crowd climbed barriers that were meant to keep the public out of the Capitol, others pushed passed police officers while some chose to break windows and force their own entry. As Jake Angeli, the leader of most of this unrest, and his members burst through the chamber doors, a sinister voice is heard projecting the words, “Knock-knock, we’re here”. Chaos soon followed.

Mogelson was able to push his way into the chamber with the crowd and recorded clips of what happened within the walls. Many members looked through notes and sat in chairs, including Mike Pence’s chair. They disrespected the privacy of many of the elected officials who devoted their lives to this country and its citizens.

Before the angry mob was escorted out of the chamber, members were reminded by a fellow rioter, “It’s a PR war, you have to understand, it’s an IO [information operation] war, we’re better than that”. This man entered the chamber as people were sitting in the Vice President’s chair, and looking through personal documents of the chamber.

This unknown man held his fellow rioters in line as he tried to keep them from disrespecting much of the property. Although he could not stop them all, he was caught on camera doing so. Glimpses of humanity were seen in the members of the riot. Still to see in the video were members of the riot who had anger in their demeanors and the actions that followed.

Once the members finished looking through the Senate’s notes, a prayer was initiated. The chamber being the most sacred spot in the building, they decided to pray to God, thanking Him for their rights as Americans. This powerful moment drew an immense amount of emotion from many of the followers. One man was seen with his arms extended into the air, shaking them as he thanked God for his God-Given rights.

Along with the Senate Chamber, members took over hallways screaming, “Defend your liberty, defend your constitution” and were seen banging on doors while yelling, “Treason, treason, treason” repeatedly.

These chants will resonate within those walls for years. Making history by entering the building and creating a panic across the country that is now engraved in our history books, our minds, and our Capitol Building.

What happened on the opposite side of the Capitol Building can be better described as a riot rather than the actions that happened inside of the Capitol Building. Mogelson was able to find another entrance, this one much more violent than what was previously seen.

A large group was seen flooding towards other entrances of the building.

Police officers were shown in full riot gear blocking the entrances while crowd members threw objects at them. “Break the windows”, screamed an unidentifiable man at the crowd.

Those three simple words ignited a fire within the crowd, causing them to break windows and enter the building once more.

A large cloud of smoke takes over the frame of the video and we hear, “that’s all they got? What the f***, let’s go”, from a man wearing an American flag bandana as a face mask screamed into the crowd.

As the riot ensued, the SWAT team fires three shots off into the crowd, in the only attempts to get the crowd members to surrender. Many fade out and leave the steps as does Mogelson. Many would assume that the riot was complete at this point, only to find crowds surrounding AP Media Equipment ripping it apart, stomping on it and burning it. Throwing tantrums much like the ones children throw when they are upset.

The events that took place on Jan. 6, 2021 created a nationwide panic for people on each coast of America. The actions displayed came from members of a political party, upset about the change of presidency, something that happens in our country every four years, something the United States of America is used too. Fear lived in Americans when the day should have brought joy, relief and hope for others waiting for it.

Political Parties have caused upset amongst Americans since they were created. Opinions are personal pieces of information that are protected by the First Amendment as a Freedom of Speech but at what point do the opinions of each political party get put before others’ lives?

“Traitors to the guillotine! We are at war… from this day forward! Mobilize in your own cities, your own counties, storm your own Capitol buildings and take down every one of those corrupt motherf******...Hang them!”, said one man outside of the Capitol building. With how much progress the United States of America has made since the Civil War in 1861, how many steps back are we going to take before it happens again?