People who went to Washington, DC for a pro-Trump rally on January 6 say it’s not said often enough how many people didn’t cause trouble. More than 700 who did were charged with rioting either inside the Capitol building or elsewhere on Capitol grounds.
A local man, 28-year old Mathew Capsel, is facing charges in federal court in Washington. For several weeks after his arrest, he was under a court-ordered curfew that was eased and then lifted. His next court date is January 25th.
During the riot, a Capitol police officer shot and killed a protester. Afterward, four Capitol police officers died of suicide.
Cong. Adam Kinzinger was named to a committee investigating what happened. Most Republicans in Congress didn’t want anything to do with that committee, and many Republicans scoff at Kinzinger now. Kinzinger says democracy is in trouble and the problem needs to be addressed or rioters may win next time.
We chose this as one of the top stories of 2021 because of how unusual the event was, how it grew from increasing polarization that has been affecting the country for years, and its potential to affect things for a long time to come.
Image of the Capitol riot from an evidence file in a federal court case.