The original founding fathers drew great influence from the Roman Republic when forming the great nation of the United States of America. They built the government from the hay-day of the Republic (think functioning Senate, Tribune of the Plebs, and Consuls). The virtues of the ancient Romans — loyalty, humility, and the ability to do what was best for the nation — were all taken into consideration when drafting the constitution.
Like Rome around 90 B.C., it appears the U.S. has come to a turning point as of January 6th, 2021. Instead of the Golden Days of the Roman Republic, America mirrors the time of Marius and Sulla. In a vast oversimplification, Marius and Sulla were leaders of opposing factions in the Republic. Marius championed the poor plebs, while Sulla was the face of the aristocrats. Each amassed armies loyal to their leaders, not the State of Rome, and as a result Rome was torn in two, and eventually, the great Republic fell. The most relevant part of this little history lesson is that both Marius and Sulla used violence and insurrection to threaten and coerce Senators and citizens alike into giving them complete control of the Republic.
On January 6th, 2021, American history changed forever. The following events occurred:
At around 6:00 am, crowds began to gather in Washington D.C. in response to a Donald Trump tweet: “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, be wild!”
At 10:00 am, Trump’s rally began with speeches from his sons Eric, Donald Jr., and his lawyer Rudy Guiliani.
At 11:50 am, Trump makes the following statement: “And after this, we’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
After Trump finished speaking, the thousands that have joined his protest began walking to the Capitol. The word “protest” is controversial considering the events that eventually took place. However, at this point, no damage was done, no laws were broken, and the actions taken by Trump and his supporters were simply a demonstration.
At 1:00 pm, the Electoral College votes began to be counted. Shortly after, Trump supporters began to attack police supervising the protest. The demonstration had turned into a riot.
Around 1:30 pm, evacuations of the Capitol building began and continued in stages until around 4:05 pm.
At 2:10 pm, the mob somehow managed to get past police lines in front of the Capitol. They scaled walls and climbed staircases.
At 2:45 pm, shots were reported in the House Chamber.
At 3:13, Trump began a series of tweets pleading with supporters to “remain peaceful”, “respect the law,” and “go home.” He also made a very questionable video where he said “You’re very special” and “We love you” to those protestors violently attacking our nation’s greatest institutions. Trump was eventually permanently banned on Twitter and indefinitely suspended on Instagram and Facebook after posting messages that broke these companies’ rules and regulations.
At 3:51, the National Guard was deployed. Law enforcement continued to attempt to secure the building until 8:00 pm when Congress began counting Electoral College votes again.
While these events occurred, there was live broadcasting from the major news companies showing the madness occurring outside our nation’s capitol. Social media was also plastered with images and video footage of the events unfolding inside the capitol. These criminals wreaked havoc and destroyed countless windows, trashed offices, and even stole property belonging to our government. Their actions are deplorable and don’t represent American citizens but rather domestic terrorists. It was also reported that six people died in total, including Ashli Babbitt (35), an air force veteran shot by police. Two others that died were actually police officers. Brian Sicknick of the US Capitol police died due to injuries he sustained while on duty, preventing people from funneling into the building. Apparently, he was beaten in the head and pepper-sprayed. Another officer Howard Liebenood also died by taking his own life. It’s with great sadness that our nation has to witness the loss of two officers.
The acts of domestic terror that unfolded were shocking. However, these people who stormed the Capitol were NOT a representation of the Republican Party. They were an entirely different breed, the most extreme of Trump’s supporters. No one can deny that most were Republican or Trump supporters, and no one can anyone deny that Trump’s words and actions gave them an opportunity to do the unthinkable. However, Trump could not control them, showing how they really were just looking for an opportunity to land a hit on the country. His tweets urging them to stop acting violently and leave were completely disregarded.
These people have made a mockery of the entire political situation in the US, and they should be properly prosecuted in our judicial system. This open insurrection is absolutely disgusting. People died in a needless act of terror, including Babbitt who devoted her life to the country. But in the end, every last rioter forgot about their country. Loving America means respecting the democratic process and having faith in democracy and the core values on which it was built. Loyalty should be to the country first and anyone else second.
America has quite possibly reached the biggest test of its long and tumultuous history which has been said many times over the course of the past year. Like Rome, a failure to uphold the government of our country could spell disaster. I wholeheartedly believe that America is and for the most part has been the greatest country in the world. But right now, the whole world is laughing at us. Moving forward, we can only hope America will move towards peace and prevent any criminal, foreign or domestic, from trespassing into our nation’s center of democracy.
