A Week of Political Turmoil: Georgia Runoffs and the Capitol Insurrection

Following the Nov. 3, 2020 presidential elections, anticipation for the Jan. 5 Georgia runoff elections rose significantly. After the victory of Joe Biden in the presidential elections, many were anxious to see whether the legislative branch would follow the same Democratic trend.

On Jan. 6, The Associated Press called the elections for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock, having won with 50.6% and 51% of the votes, respectively. They had faced a tight race against Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. These results confirmed that the Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency. 

That same day, following President Donald Trump’s fruitless efforts to throw out the presidential election results in multiple contentious states, claiming the election was fraudulent and that he had won a “landslide victory,” far-right supporters, neo-nazis and white supremacists converged on the Capitol for a “Save America” rally, which Trump had previously Tweeted would “be wild.” At the rally, Trump allies such as personal attorney Rudy Giuliani called for violence, saying he wished for a “trial by combat.” 

At the end of his speech, Trump urged the attendees to go to the Capitol building, where Congress was certifying state vote counts. Quickly, the march turned to violence, as rioters began to push back barriers blocking the entrance to the Capitol and against the woefully underprepared Capitol Police force. Congressmen were evacuated from the Capitol and escorted to a secure location immediately, and the count was put on hold. 

After breaching the building, insurrectionists attempted to locate prominent Democratic members of Congress, and many found their way to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s office. After multiple hours, Capitol Police forces were reinforced and able to push out the insurrectionists. One woman was shot and killed while attempting to breach a barrier inside of the Capitol, three rioters died of other causes, a Capitol Police officer died later and another committed suicide in the days after.

Trump continued to urge on his supporters during and after the attack, despite calling for peace at the same time, so he was banned from several social media sites including Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Snapchat and Google for inciting violence. Apple, Google and other internet services ended their support for Parler, a conservative alternative to Twitter, because it failed to moderate calls to violence in the days leading up to the riot. 

If Vice President Michael Pence does not invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office by Wednesday or Trump does not resign, the House will vote on newly introduced articles of impeachment, despite the Senate being unable to vote to convict until after Trump’s term ends.

Many major companies, including AT&T, Marriott and Morgan Stanley, will also cut off donations to Republican Congressmen who objected to the electoral results in different states, such as Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, despite there being no evidence of abnormal fraud.

Tensions have risen to an all-time high after the Capitol building breach and the results of the Georgia runoffs, and thousands of National Guard members are already deployed in Washington in preparation for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

Article by Ryleigh Waters of Watkins Mill High School

Photo by Ashley Neyra of Watkins Mill High School