Congress Affirms President-Elect Biden and Vice-President Elect Harris after Riot

Congress Affirms President-Elect Biden and Vice-President Elect Harris after Trump Rioters Violently Storm the Capitol Building

Violence erupted on January 6, 2021 when Congress convened to certify the electoral college results of the 2020 presidential election. Vice President Mike Pence presided over the proceedings at the Capitol Building where a crowd of President Trump’s supporters protested, then rioted. The rioters reached the Senate floor and breached the offices of high-ranking Congressional leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Photographs circulated of a rioter behind Speaker Peolsi’s desk, leaving a note saying “WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN. Members of Congress were forced to evacuate because of the attack.

Black Americans took to social media to draw comparisons between the lack of force used against the Trump rioters who breached the Capitol building and the excessive force used against the 2020 Black Lives Matter peaceful protesters.

President Trump himself has threatened and fueled this violent action for months by refusing to concede the election, engaging the judicial system in baseless claims of election fraud and taking to social media to convince his supporters that the election was stolen from him.

As a result, his supporters have echoed his sentiments in the extreme. During the riots, after being urged to make a statement to stop the siege he incited, he asked the rioters to go home and respect law enforcement, while also telling them that he loves them. His Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat accounts have all been suspended for violating the social media platforms’ civil integrity policies.

Although the rioters aimed to stop the electoral certification from cementing the Biden/Harris administration as the legitimate winner of the 2020 election, they accomplished nothing more than a national embarrassment. Once the building was secured by law enforcement, Congress went on to count and certify the results of the election, upholding the voice of voters.