On Jan. 4, thousands of protesters and rioters charged the Capitol building to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

Many of these protesters destroyed rooms, doors, and other items in the building. Many trespassed into rooms, such as the speaker of the house’s office and the main chamber in the building. The amount of violence incited during the protests led to five deaths and many more injuries.

People all over the world could not believe that something so frightening was happening to one of the most powerful buildings in the world. Allison Suen, a senior, stated, “I was in my 7th period class when our teacher put the news on the whiteboard. I was honestly shocked to see so much chaos in the Capitol.” 

The amount of people in the building caused fear amongst the public as the Capitol is the one of the most defended institutions. There was smoke, broken windows and broken glass, causing mass panic around the world. 

In addition, the pictures and videos being taken by protesters caused massive uproar. Senior Sandro Xiao explained, “I saw a person sitting in Nancy Pelosi’s desk. I also saw people in the Congress chamber taking pictures and vandalizing other properties. I was really angry because people are not allowed to just disrespect the country and its government.” 

The destruction of items in the Capitol building shows the crime and violence taking place during these protests as people entered and broke into a government facility. The central pillars of the government were disrespected and harmed by these protesters. 

Junior JT Muzalski reiterates, “I was really surprised that people in our own country would do such a thing. We destroyed government property and insulted the highest level of our democracy.” As the country moves forward, the protests in the Capitol will remain a pivotal piece in the history of the United states. 

With many people still being scared for the country’s future, the United States will move into the next chapter in the book with the inauguration of the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden.