Amidst lawmakers attempting to count the electoral votes of the past election, Trump supporters stormed and breached the United States Capitol Building. On Jan. 6, 2021, rioters were violent, attacking police officers and vandalizing both the inside and outside of the landmark. This came shortly after the Georgia Runoff resulted in a victory for two Democratic senators, giving Democrats a majority in the Senate.

The Senate was set to adjourn at 12:30 p.m. in order to count the electoral votes and vote on objecting to individual state results that confirmed Joe Biden as the president-elect. Individual senators planned to object to the results of the electoral college, effectively attempting to overturn these results. Later, however, some of these senators changed their mind after the violence seen at the Capitol, such as Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler.

At around 12:50, rioters showed up at the doors of the building and overwhelmed Capitol police. The mob breached security and amid the debates in the Senate, successfully gained access to the building. This resulted in the death of four protestors from being shot or from medical complications. The rioters were seen scaling the walls of the stairways. Once inside, protestors were seen on the very podium from which Mike Pence was supposed to be sitting at the time. Some even stole and broke furniture inside the Capitol.

“Honestly, the Capitol attacks were unexpected and unnecessary in a way. I do not think that was a great way to make their voice heard, but they will do just about anything right now,” sophomore Grace Urbita said.

Initially, Capitol police tried to prevent the rioters from entering the building by placing themselves at the doorways and holding back the mobs. Democratic Representative from Ohio, Tim Ryan said “the insurrection and the attempted coup, but also the lack of professional planning and dealing with what we knew was going to occur” suggested that appropriate authorities did not plan for the attack as they should have.

President Trump then mobilized the Washington D.C’s National Guard, of around 1,100 troops to control the mob. The soldiers were aided by both Virgina’s and Maryland’s own National Guards as well to subdue the protestors.

The senators, along with Vice President Mike Pence, were either evacuated from the building or stayed in their chambers with armed security as the protestors breached the building. The entire complex was put on lockdown until a few hours later when the Capitol was finally secured.

The senators reconvened, and after each representative had a five-minute time frame to speak on the matter, they voted 92-7 to certify the electoral college. This was then followed by the House of Representatives who voted — in a narrower margin of 282-138 — to officiate Joe Biden’s candidacy. Early Thursday morning, Joe Biden, after Congress’ vote, officially became the president-elect of the United States.

During the attacks, Joe Biden was set to give a speech about the economy. Once the news came out, he shifted the conversation over about the Capitol Hill attack as it was taking place. Biden called for the President to go on national television and bring an end to this ‘siege’, saying that “the words of a President, at its best, can inspire.” When he finished his speech, reporters asked whether he felt unsafe in any way, to which he responded “I’m not concerned about my safety, security or the inauguration. The American people will stand up, and stand up now.”

President Trump did not respond on national television, but rather on his social media platforms. He tweeted a video that is no longer available, saying “We love you, I know what you’re going through, but go home, and go home peacefully.” For his claims on election fraud and that “Biden stole the election”, Twitter and Facebook both issued their own bans. Twitter banned the president’s account from his platform for 12 hours while Facebook banned his account indefinitely. The President promised an ‘orderly transition’ on Jan. 20, after Joe Biden’s confirmation in Congress.

“I feel like while not directly saying ‘This is good, keep doing this’ his responses still gave that feeling to his more hardcore followers. He should have really put more emphasis on stopping the riots and not doing that again than he actually did,” sophomore Alejandro Garcia said.

Social media pointed out the last time the Capitol had been raided in this fashion, was in the War of 1812, with the British. Some Senators pointed this out in their five minutes during the debate period Wednesday night. Joe Biden will become the President on Jan. 20 on Inauguration Day, when historically there is a peaceful transition of power for the new administration.