Aftermath of insurrection at Capitol

On Jan. 6, people around the globe watched in horror as American self-proclaimed "patriots" scaled the Capitol walls, attacked police, set up gallows on the steps of democracy and vandalized a sacred temple of justice and liberty, all in the name of America and President Donald J. Trump.

The day has been regarded as one of the “darkest days in American history” by news outlets and politicians, but it’s also a critical point with consequences that are hard to predict.

One thing that can be said for certain is that impeachment is imminent. It won’t happen under Trump’s administration as Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) already made it clear he won’t reconvene the Senate for an early session, and last year’s Senate impeachment trial lasted almost three weeks.

The Democrat-ruled House of Representatives already impeached Trump for the second time — a first in American history. Under President-elect Joe Biden's administration, Democrats will have control in the Senate, so it’s only a matter of time before Trump is impeached in the Senate and disqualified from ever holding office again.

Trump’s impeachment is essentially a guarantee as the repercussions of not impeaching him would be catastrophic. Allowing his actions to go unchecked is equivalent to spitting on the Constitution, shredding the flag or burning the Founding Fathers in effigy.

It would be an affront to democratic institutions. It would tell the country that someone could incite insurrection and get away with it.

It would create more chaos in a country where nearly half the people preach that they are on the side of “law and order” — the same half that invaded the Capitol in a hostile takeover that resulted in the deaths of five people, four of whom were some of Trump’s most fervent supporters and the last person, someone that Trump tweeted was on their side.

It would be a failure of the American government and a failure of democracy if Trump is not impeached.

Following the riot, there will likely be some division within parties as well. Many Republicans hung onto the Trump presidency due to his large fan base, which helped their political aspirations, and because they truly believed him.

Moving forward, two things can happen in the Republican party: People will either strengthen their support for Trump and continue to defend him and his actions, or they will sever ties with him in some form.

Either way, this could hurt the Republican party and potentially risk future elections if they are unable to reunite those who do and don't support Trump. A restructuring of the political parties could be on the horizon. There may be a stronger Independent presence or the emergence of a Trump-centered political party (a scary thought indeed, but it seems unlikely).

Additionally, party relations will continue to worsen. Usually, after major crises (a category the riot falls under), the country comes together and rallies around some common cause. This is not the case now. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, during the House impeachment proceedings, that, “A vote to impeach would further divide this nation” and “fan the flames of partisan division.” And he’s right. Impeachment will likely push the two parties further apart.

Vox compiled the results of polls following the Jan. 6 riot and found that the country is still divided along party lines on whether Trump should be impeached or removed from office. A majority of Democrats were for his removal, while a majority of Republicans were against his removal and even questioned whether the president did anything that warranted impeachment.

Some Republican leaders have acknowledged Trump’s role in inciting the insurrection and have spoken out against him, including the Republican National Committee and Ken Langone, a long-time Republican donor and co-founder of Home Depot. But, many Republicans continue to stand by Trump, even after his rhetoric instigated the violence that caused all of Capitol Hill to go on an active shooter-esque lockdown.

This will likely create immense tension on Capitol Hill, especially now that the Democrats have control over the executive and legislative branches.

The legislators who supported Trump and his attempt to overthrow the election may not be leaving this situation scot-free. Lawmakers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) are advocating for them to be held accountable as well, mostly in the form of resignation or removal. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) even introduced a resolution on it.

The resolution calls for an investigation and report on “whether any and all actions taken by Members of the 117th Congress who sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election violated their oath of office to uphold the Constitution or the rules of the House of Representatives and should face sanction, including removal from the House of Representatives.”

The proposition references section three of the 14th Amendment as a basis for its appeals.

The 14th Amendment states, “No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

What this essentially means is there is a chance the legislators who supported overturning the election could be removed from office based on the 14th Amendment. It’s important to note that questioning election results has happened before. It’s not illegal, and it’s a frequent occurrence.

But, the dissent has never gotten to the point where a group of rioters invaded the Capitol and stopped official government proceedings, which would be a key point in applying the 14th Amendment.

During the protesters’ trials, it would be interesting to see how the First Amendment may come into play. Under the First Amendment, citizens are afforded the freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly and petition.

Protesters may use the First Amendment as a defense, but the words, “the right of the people peaceably to assemble,” would nullify it because the protest was anything but peaceful. As the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Matthew Schneider said, the crimes the protesters committed aren’t protected under the Constitution, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The courts and the government have a long history of strongly upholding people’s rights under the First Amendment. Even to the point of allowing hate speech.

“Hate speech is protected by the First Amendment,” the American Library Association (ALA) said. “Courts extend this protection on the grounds that the First Amendment requires the government to strictly protect robust debate on matters of public concern even when such debate devolves into distasteful, offensive or hateful speech that causes others to feel grief, anger or fear.”

While the images of gallows being erected, Confederate flags being flown and people donning anti-Semitic apparel, with the words “Camp Auschwitz” on it, stirred up anger and fear across the country, it was still in many ways legal.

The ALA said, “Under current First Amendment jurisprudence, hate speech can only be criminalized when it directly incites imminent criminal activity or consists of specific threats of violence targeted against a person or group.” What is considered a hate crime ranges from assault, vandalism, threats and conspiring to commit a crime. 

In the coming weeks, as charges are being brought against protesters, it would be interesting to see if any of them are charged with a hate crime by the Department of Justice (which seems somewhat unlikely) or if other organizations may challenge the legality of allowing hate symbols, especially if they were used to attack the Capitol.

Something else to look for would be if Congress makes domestic terrorism an actual federal crime. Domestic terrorism isn’t officially a federal crime.

The FBI won’t “designate any organization a ‘domestic terrorist organization’” because “doing so may infringe on First Amendment-protected free speech.” When people commit acts that are viewed as domestic terrorism, they aren’t charged with domestic terrorism — they’re charged with the crimes they committed, like murder.

Following Jan. 6, Congress may want to rethink their policies and make domestic terrorism an actual crime and allow groups like the Boogaloo Bois, the Proud Boys and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) to be designated as domestic terrorist groups in addition to being hate groups (a label the Proud Boys and the KKK both have at the Southern Poverty Law Center).

What is most concerning about the Capitol insurrection is that it even happened at all and that, in the aftermath, people continue supporting Trump and still question why he should be impeached.

Trump committed insurrectionist and seditious acts against the country and against democratic pillars. He tried to overturn a completely legal election and install himself as the true president, a move reminiscent of a dictator. The actions that his supporters engaged in matches the definition of domestic terrorism, even though they can’t be charged as such.

The fact that people still support him and back his ideologies and actions is astonishing, to say the least.

If democracy worked the way it should, we should have never gotten to this point. What happened in Charlottesville back in 2018 was a precursor to the Capitol insurrection. The attempted kidnapping of a state governor was another sign things would escalate.

Trump’s rhetoric and his “stand back and stand by” statement during the presidential debate were other warning signs that something as extreme as breaking into the Capitol would occur.

His tweets, his speeches, almost everything the president and his supporters said and did were warning signs that this would happen. The FBI warned law enforcement about the potential for violence on Jan. 6 and online activity in pro-Trump forums was an indication that this wasn’t simply a protest.

And yet, nothing was done to prevent right-wing extremism from getting this bad.