What happened in Washington?

On Wednesday, Jan. 6, both the House of Representatives and the Senate came together for a joint-session of Congress in order to officially certify the 2020 presidential election results. he joint-session was interrupted by hundreds of disgruntled supporters of President Donald Trump, who  claimed it was  a rigged election. As a consequence of the chaos, the session was suspended until early into the next morning, Jan. 7 after an evening full of protests. So, what exactly happened to lead to this point?

Roughly two months earlier, on Nov. 7, 2020, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was officially declared the 46th President of the United States after the race was called. Over the next month and a half, supporters of President Trump repeatedly claimed unsubstantiated evidence that the election was rigged, especially in places such as Arizona, Pennsylvaniaand Georgia. Some were even agitated by the President himself during interviews and rallies over the course of time. The result was massive protests all around the country, especially in Washington D.C., calling on politicians to audit and overturn the election.

Fast forward to Jan. 6, and the joint-session of Congress begins. Outside of the U.S. Capitol building, a massive group of pro-Trump protesters gathered around to rally and  call a last minute plea for Representatives and Senators to overturn the election results. Shortly after, the conglomerate of Trump supporters proceeded to storm the Capitol building Representatives and Senators were subsequently evacuated. Doors were broken down, officers were threatened, one officer was killed, and offices  were raided. Some even made it as far as the Senate chambers, where a couple of protesters were seen sitting in the chair that Vice President Mike Pence was sitting in just minutes earlier. Some  broke into offices, with one protester sitting in the office of Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Only hours later,  the Washington D.C. National Guard took control and the joint-session resumed. Last minute objections were heard, and at around 3:30 a.m. local time, the election results were confirmed, with Joe Biden defeating Donald Trump 306-232.

All in all, the culmination of months of protests relating to fraud, corruption and tension pertaining to the Presidential Election led to the eventual consequence of violence, which is what happened in the U.S. Capitol.