This History Today series aims to document what life is like in this period of history. I update whenever I feel like it.

Aspects of daily life:

• Last week on Wednesday January 6, 2021, protestors from a Trump rally in Washington DC made their way from the rally to the Capitol building where Congress and VP Mike Pence were finalizing the election results from November’s election of Joe Biden / Kamala Harris to President / VP. At the rally, Trump encouraged the people to march on the Capitol to give the Republicans “the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country,” according to the Aljazeera transcript.
• The protestors went past the sparsely manned barricades and broke into the Capitol building. In the videos I saw, there seemed to be very little police. At least at first.
• The media that I watch (I’ll admit that it’s mostly CNBC, maybe some FOX, and CNN) has been calling it an insurrection, the Capitol riots, the siege on the Capitol, and storming the Capitol.
• That I know, one police officer is dead (from being hit with a fire extinguisher), and so is one protestor (from a gun shot). I think there are more deaths, but I don’t know details.
• The politicians inside did not get harmed and were removed before the rioters got to the main room.
• Rioters got into some of the offices, like Pelosi’s. They did seem to hide their faces much. There was some vandalism.
• Trump tweeted that his followers should go home and be peaceful after a few hours, and then he made a video with the same message.
• I believe the National Guard was sent in hours later, along with SWAT and other police, but I don’t know details about this. Washington DC had a curfew early that day. It took a long time for them to get control of the situation.
• After the Capitol was secured, Trump tweeted more and he was banned from Twitter by Twitter.
• It’s days later, and I hear reports of the people getting arrested and charged if they brought a gun or perpetrated anything illegal.
• As someone who was working at home on the other side of the country while this was happening, it was shocking. And at first, I didn’t understand the implications. This was not just a riot. They literally tried to stop democracy from happening, because they think they’re right. The funny thing about thinking you’re right is that everyone thinks they are right. A large portion are not entirely right, ever. Is there even such a thing as right? I don’t know. But I do know what actions they took, and I do think I agree with calling it an insurrection.
• The difference between the Capitol riots and the BLM riots is where they took their violence. BLM did not try to invade government buildings, especially the buildings that represent the democracy of this country, while the election was being finalized inside. I don’t have all the facts, so maybe I’ve got something wrong. The insurrection was against the literal people that run the country, while they were inside. That is fundamentally different from protesting in the streets. That is not free speech, that is assault, that is coercion.
• Even Mike Pence did not try to overturn the results, even though Trump asked him to. Mike Pence posted his letter explaining why he did not to his Twitter on that Wednesday. He didn’t think it was his right as VP to overturn results though he said he would hear objections. Later he tweeted against the protestors, calling it an attack.
• I’m just floored. Absolutely floored that this happened, and that some congresspeople were trying to overturn the election, stating fraud in the election, while the local governments ensured that there was none. If there was fraud, it would’ve been found. There can’t be a conspiracy this big, but somehow some Republicans and the President insist there is. This feels so much like what a dictator would say. Insisting to his loyal followers that he was wronged. And then they go and intimidate lawmakers to try to have them do what they want. And what would have happened if they had gotten their hands on the politicians? I think there would have been more death. What if they had succeeded and made Trump President again? Would there be any recourse? I do think that if Trump asked his supporters to have a civil war, there would be one. Will he do that?
• Even though I didn’t want Trump to be President again, I didn’t think he was this dangerous, that he would do this. I know I’m naive. I know other people said he would do something like this. But I guess I had too much faith in the collective rationality of the masses and the government.
• It makes me wonder if our country is too big to stay together. California is huge on its own. I hope if a civil war break out, California just peacefully breaks off and we drop that mess. Which is so weird to even want, considering I grew up with this love of the US. But goodness, I don’t think I could manage through a civil war. That terrifies the hell out of me. Of course, a Trump-run government is also equally terrifying now. They don’t want “justice for all.”