Personal Reflection on the 2nd Anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection

Today marks the two-year anniversary of Trump's attempted coup that led to the brief disruption of the certification of the electoral vote. That is a day I will never forget.

I was working remotely, attempting to get some work completed before the new semester began. My wife had on one of the news channels covering what should have been a routine certification of the electoral votes for each state. I was expecting that some Senators and Representatives on the GOP side would object to the count in some swing states, so that it was likely going to be a long day for everyone in Congress. I went into the living room at some point to see Trump at the Obelisk looking more menacing than usual (which is saying something). I remember Trump telling the crowd to march over to the Capitol Building and that they needed to be there to remind some Republicans to show "bravery" and to remind Pence to do Trump's bidding. Trump also promised to be marching with the crowd, which of course never happened. I noticed a column of people walking or marching out. At the time, I could not tell if some folks had just got bored with the same grievances that Trump had been babbling on about, or if something more sinister was afoot. But I did not think much of it and went back to my work.

Later in the afternoon, my wife mentioned that people were storming the Capitol Building. I went back to the living room, and watched in shock as the channel kept providing footage of people storming and eventually breaching the Capitol Building. I remember coverage of Congressional members calling in to share what was going on inside the building. The Capitol Police were completely outnumbered. I remember the images of violence vividly to this day. I remember the House Chamber and then the Senate Chamber being evacuated. I remember the images of a police officer being chased by members of the mob that had descended onto the Capitol. I remember the news of Speaker Pelosi's office being broken into and vandalized, and really the vandalism happening throughout the building. I remember the moment gun shots were fired inside the building. It looked like complete and utter chaos. I'd stay in the living room for the remainder of the afternoon, unable to concentrate on anything else. For a brief moment, it looked like our democracy was in its death throes. I finally felt some relief when by late afternoon (my time) that the various police forces and National Guard gained the upper hand and ejected the insurrectionists from the Capitol Building. 

I'd be up that evening and into the very early morning hours of January 7th, 2021, watching coverage of the certification once the building had been cleared for Congress members to return to finish their work. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when the out-going Vice President, Mike Pence, certified the results and made it official that Biden was going to be our next President.

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