January 6th, 2021. Chaos in every direction.

People were breaking windows and climbing over walls to enter the United States’ capitol building. Security struggled to contain the pandemonium.

Soon enough, the crowd stormed into the offices and raged through the chambers of our nation’s Capitol.
Meanwhile, members of Congress brought the conversation about the next president of the US to a halt.
They hid under desks and removed their ID tags; with the door to the Congress room barricaded, agents reached for their guns and pointed them at the door for an extra safety measure.

“We have been instructed to get gas masks that are under our seats,” Representative Peter Welch said. There was a possibility the mob was going to use tear gas.

On January 6, the limits of our democracy were tested.

This experience and this day will go down in history.

The questions we need to answer: who was involved, what happened, how did this happen, and what does this event mean for 2021?

“I was at home playing 2k on my PlayStation when the news came,” said 10th grader Uday Mittal. “I was surprised and confused as to why it happened, but as the news unraveled, I came to know the motives and what occurred.”
President Trump was giving a speech to his crowd of supporters regarding the election.

As many of us know, Donald J. Trump lost the election to President-elect Joe Biden. Congress was meeting on the 6th to verify Biden’s victory while Trump was delivering his speech.
“All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by the emboldened radical-left Democrats, which is what they are doing. And stolen by the fake news – we will never give up, we will never concede,” declared Trump.
As Trump cannot accept that he did not win the election, he persuaded his supporters.

He later stated, “So we are going to, we are going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, and we are going to the Capitol, and we are going to try and give.”
To summarize his speech, Trump spoke about voter fraud and stopping corrupt elections.

He placed fire in the hearts of the people who were already burning with rage.

As encouraged, the mob went down to Capitol Hill. The New York Times reported finding comments on social media apps such as Gab and Parler on avoiding police and what to bring to pry open doors.
Pro-Trump movements and violent threats against Congress members were circulating online, and they were encouraged by Trump.

“On Gab, [protesters] documented going into the offices of Congress members, including that of the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,” confirmed the New York Times.
There were also posts about searching for Vice President Mike Pence. During the chaos, people were chanting, “Where is Pence?”

Renee DiResta, a researcher at Stanford, stated that these people were protesting because they thought the election was stolen: “This is a demonstration of the very real-world impact of echo chambers.”

“I had a sinking feeling that was very familiar… it reminded me of 9/11 and how I felt during 9/11,” history teacher Ms. Hutchinson said. “I was in my classroom, and I immediately turned my radio on to listen to the news.”

A large crowd of people climbed up the Capitol stairs, broke windows, and broke down doors to enter the capitol building. Several people were found lounging in congressional offices and disrupted the neat desks.

“In all honesty, I am unsure of what the result is. All I know is that the violence that took place at our Capitol building will be stained in history. There is no pushing aside the violent acts and monstrosity that occurred,” said Ashley Corso, 12th grader. “America should not be divided in the way that it has become. Being either a Democrat or Republican should not be embarrassing.”

What does 2021 look like for us? How will this event affect this year?

“Even though Trump is leaving office soon, the gang of lunatics he riled up will invariably continue to be terrible people,” said 11th grader Krishna Katakota. “To be clear, I am not talking about Republicans as a whole; I am only talking about the hardcore ‘I would give my life for Father Donald’ cultists.”

The results of the mob:

Five people died, including Capitol Officer Sicknick. He was injured when engaging with the rioters, which led to further complications.
An officer shot 35-year-old Air Force Veteran Ashli Babbitt. Two males named Kevin Greeson and Benjamin Philips and female Rosanne Boyland all died due to medical emergencies.
Trump is now on trial for impeachment as encouraging this event. The results of the vote to impeach Trump was 232 to 197 from Congress.
“Ten Republicans broke away from their party to approve an article of impeachment. Trump will leave power as the first president in the nation’s 245-year old history to be impeached twice,” stated USA Today.
The article will be submitted to Senate, who could hold a trial or dismiss the impeachment. At least 67 of 100 senators must agree to remove Trump from office.

“Tragic events like this one have created a great feeling of community- like we are all in this together. I hope that this is a wake-up call for everyone in this nation to come together, move forward, and make changes for the benefit of all of our citizens,” said Ms. Hutchinson.

Some people have optimistic views for the future of 2021, as do I.

I think our nation will come together, and we will eventually learn that political opinions do not define who you are.
It also reminds us that even at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day, our problems will not magically be solved.

“I don’t want to grade 2021 based on a few days, but I feel like this is how 2020 went, and I hope 2021 turns out to be better than I thought. It is like a mystery seed, and once we let it grow, we will see what the petals show,” concluded Uday.