January 6: A Brief Explanation
Reveille
This page helps you understand what happened on January 6th, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
Learning about this event is important. You can learn how and when to question authority. These are important traits to learn early in life. We cannot always trust those in leadership roles.
Knowing more about this event can help you prevent another.
The Lead Up
In November and December before the attack on our Capitol, America's 45th President was Donald Trump. Trump did not want to leave office after his term. Unlike all earlier Presidents, Trump would not allow a peaceful transition to the next president- Joe Biden.
Trump didn't want to give up the Presidency. Being President gave him a feeling of prestige and opportunity to get rich. And being President kept him out of jail for his many crimes.
During those two lead-up months between the early November election and the day of the Insurrection, Trump tried to convince the American people the election had been stolen from him. He made many false statements on social media and TV exciting his MAGA followers.
Plan B, C, & D
A riled following would not be enough. Trump came up with elaborate plans to stay in office. One involved the courts. Trump and his lawyers made over sixty court filings to keep the drumbeat of scandal in his followers ears. The next plan involved the electoral college. The final plan called for an insurrection. All would come to a crescendo January 6th.
While Trump pumped the public full of doubt about the elections, he also called many state officials. During his calls he illegally coerced them. He asked them to break their oaths and lie for him. He told them to find him enough votes so he could be seen as that state's presidential winner.
During this behind-the-scenes treachery, the results of the court challenges contesting the election came in. By mid-December, court challenges confirmed the facts: Trump lost. His statements about the election being stolen were lies. Court findings confirmed there was no way Trump won the 2020 election.
These court findings were not a surprise to Trump. He'd made up the lies about the election being stolen. By mid-December it was clear he could not convince anyone with integrity that the election had been stolen from him. If he was to stay in office, his other plans would have to work.
Trump began a secret campaign to get states he lost to submit false records saying Trump won. Trump and his lawyers convinced dozens of people in states Trump lost to falsify electoral college results. Specifically, he insisted states he lost create fake certificates of ascertainments. These are the official documents that certify which candidates won in each state. No President in the history of America ever attempted to steal an election with such an illegal elaborate hoax. But Trump wasn't done.
Trump knew he could not count on any of these plans because most Americans respect their oaths to our country and Constitution. Most are not easily convinced to do the wrong thing, even if a President insists it is "the right thing."
Trump needed help inside Congress. He needed people to deliver the false electoral college ascertainments. And he needed his Vice President, Mike Pence, to go along with his scheme.
This last part made Trump worried. Unlike dealings behind the scenes, Congress and Pence's role would be very public. It would have been unavoidable news if Pence suddenly acceptd false documents and claimed Trump the winner. Trump realized he needed to pressure Congress as they finalized the election announcement. He decided to scare Vice President Pence into cooperating- or have him hung.
This was another first for America. No other President had overseen a mob that intended to hang an official on the Capitol grounds, much less his own VP.
In the second half of December, Trump and his key supporters organized a rally. A rally to be held on the same morning as the election results were counted and submitted. A rally that he would turn into a riot to pressure Congress and Pence to "do the right thing." To Trump this meant lie and cheat for him. Trump didn't just invite his MAGA followers, he invited at least thirteen hate-groups to spearhead the attack.
Morning, January 6th
On the morning of January 6th, many thousand people gathered in Washington and began arriving at the White House. He had made arrangements for the rally to be held on the Ellipse. This was not a "thanks and goodbye rally."
Trump purposely brought the crowd to the White House lawn without going through normal procedures. Usually people visiting the White House must be on official business or schedule a tour. Individuals cannot just show up and get into the White House grounds. Similarly, crowds cannot just assemble in a city. A crowd outside the White House must have a permit. This tells officials in advance of their presence. But the people that came to listen to Trump were let in. They came because the 45th President, Donald Trump, told them to. They were invited into the Ellipse as his guests.
During Trump's speech, he repeated lies about the election being stolen. He riled the crowd to "Stop the Steal." Trump inflamed the crowd with political rhetoric to get them to do his bidding. Then he told them to march to the Capitol and fight. When he was done, Trump released his followers to storm the Capitol.
The Attack
Meanwhile, at the other end of National Mall, Congress was in session. They met that day as all other Congresses had between Presidential elections. They met to certify the results of the election. Their job that day was to name Trump's replacement, our 46th President, Joe Biden.
As the crowd made their way towards the Capitol, nobody within the White House warned the police at the Capitol, or lawmakers inside, that rioters were coming to stop the process of replacing Trump. If they had, reinforcements could have been called. Without that warning, police were not equipped to stop a crowd set on breaking in. They had enough police and equipment to keep the peace, not enough to stop a riot.
Outside the Capitol, the crowd arrived. A gallows had been erected to hang Mike Pence. That day Pence had only a ceremonial role. That day his only job was to certify the election results that had been known for two months. As rioters closed in, they shouted to hang Pence and others. The police were definitely not ready for a violent mob set on lynching Americans, but they acted valiantly trying to stop the violence, and slow down the rioters.
Many people your age were watching this happen and wondering what it meant for the future.
Breaking In
Outside, rioters fought to get in doors and windows. Rioters willing to break and climb through windows are dangerous. Security forces did an honorable job, despite terrible odds against them. About one hundred and forty police were injured. Some died from their injuries and trauma.
Fortunately for lawmakers inside, the police slowed the attackers down enough that our congress had just enough time to hide or seek shelter. Secret Service agents recognized the danger. They helped our Vice President and some others out of the Capitol.
Congresses work was temporarily suspended during and immediately following the attack.
Eventually, news that Mike Pence was no longer in the Capitol got to Trump. Only then did Trump call off the attack. He made a public statement thanking the attackers and telling them it was time to leave.
Dedicated individuals in Congress decided to meet as quickly as possible after rioters left. The Vice President and others returned to the Capitol. Our 46th President was lawfully announced. The 45th would have three weeks to leave the White House.
Emotional Impact
To people watching from home, seeing the peaceful and orderly workings of our government disturbed by an assault can be unsettling. It raises concern and questions. If Trump could incite a riot in Washington, what could be next? And if the people that attacked the Capitol were just like our neighbors, can we trust them?
To the men and women that defended the Capitol, the emotional burden was very high. They had been attacked by our own people. Worse, attackers had been egged on by our own President. Not enough help arrived while the riot was going on. The police officers felt betrayed in their desperate and dangerous situation. For a long time afterward, many officers struggled to understand what had happened.
Lawmakers and their staffs in the Capitol that day, experienced a harrowing event. Some rose in their own way to honor and protect the Capitol. They went on to hold all the organizers and attackers accountable. Other congressmen pretended it didn't happen. These congressmen knew the outgoing President still controlled how the Republican Party spent its money. Republican congressment seeking reelection downplayed the attack so they could get help financing their campaigns. In fact, very few Republicans acted with honor after the attack. Those that held the organizers of the attack accountable were voted out of office in the next election.
Why People Attended Trump's Rally
People attended the rally for many reasons. Only general descriptions can be offered as each person had their own reasons.
The majority in attendance came to the Ellipse because the 45th President told them to. These people had read Trump's tweets and seen his posts on social media. Most did not know the rally would turn into a fight. A small group came because they had been especially invited to lead the violence. These people belonged to hate-groups. They knew there would be a riot, and they were eager to lead.
Looking at how people reacted that day gives some understanding of why people attended. Below are three categories of behavior.
The Uninterested
Eye-witnesses, videos, and still images estimated 75,000 Americans came to Washington for the rally. But not all stayed around. About 20,000 never entered the White House grounds. They left before the rally started. Many in this group didn't like the feel of the crowd, the tone of the event.
This shows that even after traveling to Washington, many people had sense enough to know this day would turn out badly. The people that left early wanted no part in the unfolding events.
In many ways, these people are exemplary Americans. They expressed their support for our government by coming to Washington. But they were wise enough to know they were being misled after they arrived.
The Unconvinced
This group can also be thanked. These are people that attended Trump's rally at the Ellipse. Trump lied about the number of people in attendance. He insisted there were hundreds of thousands listening to him. Actual estimates say there were no more than 55,000- about a quarter of Trump's claims.
Most Americans that attended the rally were MAGA supporters. Most MAGA members sensed by the end of the rally, Trump wasn't worth following. Attending the rally was one thing, stopping the peaceful transfer of power to the 46th President was another. While they wanted to support the presidency, they would not riot against our own government. Of the 55,000 that stood and sat through the speeches, about 95% went home after the rally. They would not march against Our House. They would not attack and harm police. They would not undermine our democracy.
In the two-mile walk between the Ellipse and the Capitol, approximately 53,000 Americans came to their senses. They went home.
Anarchist
About 2,000 American citizens rioted. Some believed the lies about the election being stolen. Some believe it was their job to correct a wrong that was done. But most rioters knew the election had not been stolen. This group came to cause harm. They came because, like Trump and the people helping him plan the attack, they wanted an insurrection. These Americans fervently wanted a revolution that would upend our democracy.The Long-Running MAGA Factor
Many citizens that came to Washington to support the President believed false information. In their minds, if the President said something, it must be true. They thought the election had been stolen, even though courts and election officials found no evidence of widespread fraud. They believed Trump, not facts.
MAGA tended to only listen to news and rumor sources that were controlled by people and corporations that supported Trump. One such source was Fox News. Fox News and others were eventually sued for spreading lies. But the damage had already been done. Lawsuits could not take back the lies that had misled Americans.
Trumps followers downplayed new sources that saw his flaws. Anyone different from them was called "woke" as if being awake vs sleepwalking that was a bad thing. Few MAGA changed their mind about Trump- even after he attacked our own Capitol.
MAGA experienced a type of tunnel vision, or echo news. They stopped listening to contrary opinion. This only further convinced them there was only one side to the story- Trump's. Once they started following only stories that favored Trump, they stopped listening to other sources.
Perhaps unknown to MAGA supporters, this behavior in a modern digital world is a fast way to ensure self-deception. Smart phones and computers use software filters. Filters select only certain news feeds and social media streams to direct to a user. What a person sees is provided to them because they watched similar content. This has a spiralling effect. It narrows perspective. If you only watch one kind of story, your smart devices will send you more just like it. And you will get less and less of everything else.
So, by their own volition, or by inadvertent software filters, MAGA saw and heard Trump 24x7. Despite MAGA supporters living in an environment full of news, MAGA's attitudes and software filters assured they were fed echos of the same story- Trump's.
What Investigations Found
After January 6, many investigations took place. Courts, journalists, and government committees confirmed that the election was not stolen. They also found that violence and threats were used in an attempt to stop a legal process.
Some leaders that promoted the notion that the election had been stolen, including Trump, later admitted they knew the election results were real. They repeated their lies to intentionally enflame Americans to act in Trump's interest.
Investigations showed the efforts to overturn the election and seize power came from the highest levels of leadership. The attack was never a reaction to perceived fraud. It was a deliberate coup. And someday the illusion of immunity will wear off.
Bullying to Influence
Where did MAGA come from? There are many contibutors, but often some developmental factors were set early in MAGA followers' lives.
Some people are naturally afraid as children. They may be particularly affected by loud voices, and lack self-confidence. Some are attracted to simple ideas rather than admit it is a complicated world. Some rather get into repetitive patterns rather than explore new and interesting subjects.
These people are prone to avoid confronation and accept a bully rather than stand up to them.
Other people notice a bully's patterns quickly. They realize some problems are complex, that simple answers are often a sign of a shallow mind, not an accurate portrail of life. These people are hard to hoodwink or manipulate.
Con men realize some people are suseptible to subtle signs of dominance. They use this to prey on the mentally weak among us- those that would follow a bully instead of stand up to him. Con men and bullies don't need to convince all Americans in a democray. Half will do.
When bullies see many people not wanting to confront them, they often think their tactics are working. They are making people frightened. And as long as they can keep them frightened, they will remain loyal to the bully.
To keep their sheepish followers, con men and bullies often use dominance cues. They repeat simple messages. They talk over others. They make disagreeing with them feel unsafe. To their followers, this can make false ideas seem true, even when evidence says otherwise.
Feeling uncomfortable around aggressive behavior is a sign of awareness, not weakness. Choosing not to follow someone who uses intimidation is often the wiser path.
What the January 6 Attack Taught Us
- Pause and think when someone uses fear or anger to persuade
- Check information before repeating it
- Speak up calmly when something feels wrong
- Respect rules that protect people, even when you disagree
- Care about your community, your country, and the future
Key Lessons and Analysis Tools
Human Behavior Traits
- People often follow bullies and con men rather than think for themselves.
- Integrity matters. People that live up to their oaths and don't try to steal are trustworthy. People that do not keep their promises and try and steal are not trustworthy.
- Not admitting or talking about mistakes does not help us avoid repeating them.
- Recovering from Being Misled
- Camera Fish Eye
- News and Digital Blind Spots
- Clear Lines of Responsibility and Actions
- Effective Leadership
Trump's Rally Speech – watch and listen, use this tool to tally the political rhetoric used to stoke the crowd.
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Bullies in Your Life –
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Tally of Lies -
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Why Do People Insist on a Lie Being True -
Politics of Deceit
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Pardons -
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Osama Bin Laden and Trump -
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Adequate Punishment for Public Lying? -
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Experiment with Social Filters -
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Adequate Punishment for Instigators? -
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Click here to see all Analytical Tool resouorces -
