Just two years ago, the United States Capitol was under attack by its own people. I remember exactly what I was doing when I received the news; I was at home eating lunch with my mom when my phone continued to buzz. They were Twitter notifications. I immediately started scrolling and turned on the TV to watch the live newsfeed of the attack. I was horrified.  

I couldn’t believe what I was watching. United States citizens were attacking the Capitol. Senators and Representatives were rushed out of their offices, rioters were snapping selfies like it was their personal playground and Capitol police were left defenseless. It was a sad day in America.  

This was the day that President Joseph Biden was certified as the presidential winner of the 2020 election. The attempted coup was made to impede this validation, as thousands of former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in support of Trump after the speech he had made at his “Save America Rally” in Washington D.C. There, he repeats the lies about the election being stolen from him and urges his supporters to “fight like hell.” About an hour after his speech, the Capitol was stormed.  

In July 2021, the House of Representatives created the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol.  

In Oct. of 2021, the committee focused on the actions, or lack thereof, that Trump had made during the 187 minutes (which is about three hours) that his supporters had violently breached the Capitol before he recorded and posted a video telling them to “go home” saying, “we love you, you’re very special.” Since then, he has repeatedly denied responsibility for the violence that he caused at the Capitol that day.  

After over 18 months of investigating, the committee’s final report has been released. This document is more than 800 pages long. They recommend that the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against Trump for his role in the attack, and suggest that Congress should act to bar Trump and others involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection from ever holding federal office again. However, Trump has announced his campaign for the 2024 presidential election.  

On Dec. 6, Congress granted the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor of Congress, to officers that protected the Capitol on Jan. 6, which includes the Capitol police and the Metropolitan Police Department. Many officers and their families refused to shake hands with Republican leaders that were present.  

Jan. 6 was a scary day for America and will be remembered forever in American history.