January 6, 2021. Thousands of Americans stormed the Capitol Building in the heart of Washington D.C. while a joint session of Congress was confirming votes for the 2020 election. This insurrection was done in an effort to halt the confirmation of Joe Biden’s presidency. In the wake of the storming, the Capitol Building was vandalized, looted, and destroyed. Around 1,500 citizens were arrested and prosecuted for their actions on Jan. 6.
January 20, 2025. Those arrested were pardoned on the first day of President Trump’s second term. According to the Department of Justice, of those pardoned, over 600 had been charged with assaulting, resisting, or obstructing law enforcement, in addition to 175 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
January 6, 2026. Looking back on the storming of the capitol’s five year anniversary, many are still impacted by the repercussions of the violence that ensued that day. Nine people died during, or as a result of the insurrection in 2021. Five of those individuals were District of Columbia police officers. Dozens of federal workers and police officers are still feeling the effects of the insurrection today, whether they are facing complications due to injury, or struggling with the mental load of the attack. Former Capitol Police sergeant Aquilino Gonell spoke to The Washington Post about how the insurrection still impacts him today. Gonell testified against rioters for his injuries, and those rioters were later pardoned by President Trump. Gonell said that the pardons struck him particularly hard, because it felt like his time had been wasted fighting for justice.
Since the insurrection, many members of congress who were in the building on Jan. 6, 2021 endorsed President Trump’s 2024 campaign. Former Speaker of the House, Republican Kevin McCarthy cited Jan. 6 as one of the worst days he had in congress. However, upon retiring, he endorsed President Trump, and stated that he would consider joining his cabinet. In the five years since the spectacle, many political scientists speculate that the insurrection was not an isolated event due to the loosened gun laws and interpretations of the Second Amendment allowing for riots against the government. Attorney for Brady United Douglas Letter described the “insurrectionist interpretation” of the Second Amendment to Time Magazine. Letter detailed the obligations Americans have under the Amendment, according to this interpretation.
“[According to the insurrectionist interpretation] Americans have a right under the Constitution, and even an obligation, to take up arms against the government when they disagree with its direction,” Letter said.
Letter was also able to explain that due to this interpretation of the Second Amendment, it is likely that more violence will strain the United States in the future.
The White House website details Jan. 6, 2021 as “a date which will live in infamy” for the American people. Thousands of lives have been forever changed since that day five years ago, and with increasing numbers of people sharing their stories, more light is brought to the life-altering experiences that happened inside of the Capitol Building.
