The images from January 6, 2021 are burned into the collective memory of the USA: In an unprecedented attack on the heart of US democracy, angry supporters of the elected President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in Washington, brutally beat overwhelmed police officers and drove away members of parliament , senators fleeing. They rioted at the seat of the US Congress for hours. A session of Parliament at which future President Joe Biden’s election victory is to be formally confirmed must be interrupted.
The police fight to the point of exhaustion, while parliamentarians are evacuated or cower under desks, fearing for their lives. But the security guards cannot stop the overwhelming number of rioters. The mob overcomes all barriers, breaks windows and doors and even penetrates into the meeting room, where a group of MPs and reporters can be brought to safety just in time. Five people die, including a Capitol Police officer who died of a stroke the day after, and an attacker who was shot by an officer.
The Capitol was only evacuated after four hours
Police officer Aquilino Gonell later described the attack as being like a “medieval battle.” He and his colleagues had to defend themselves inch by inch against the brutal mob. They were beaten, kicked, maltreated with hammers and sticks, and sprayed with chemicals. “I could have died that day. Not once, but many times,” said the US Capitol Police officer.
It was only four hours after the storming that the emergency services managed to drive the rioters out of the Capitol. And the night the riot was over, Congress reconvened amid tight security. The leader of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, said in the resumed session: “We must and will show the country – and indeed the world – that we will not be distracted from our duty, that we will accept our responsibility for the Constitution and the American people.” And that’s what the MPs did: Before sunrise, they confirmed Joe Biden’s election victory.
In the photo gallery you can see images of the storming of the Capitol that were considered unimaginable before January 6, 2021.
