Proceeding the events of January 6, members of Congress formed a bipartisan select committee to investigate the role of former President Donald Trump in an attack that shook the nation. 

Two years later, the House Select Committee has released their final conclusions regarding the day’s events as well as what truly occurred behind the scenes.  

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol…You have to show strength, and you have to be strong,” said Trump.

The committee based their findings on over 1,000 testimonies, reports, and documentation both in the build-up of the attack and the actual day itself. Moreover, the committee has concluded that former President Donald Trump was responsible for leading tens of thousands of his supporters to march to the Capitol, an act that he has directly stated he was not responsible for. 

“President Trump’s rhetoric and actions on January 6th incited a violent insurrection that endangered the lives of elected officials, staff members, and law enforcement, causing a stain on the history of the United States and the democratic process,” said Vannessa Singh.

The committee also found that Trump did not take sufficient action to stop the attack, despite pleas from members of Congress and his own administration. Furthermore, he released a video in which some allege that he continued to encourage the rioters and praise their actions.

“Former President Trump has shown that the chance of a dictatorship is more prone to happening. The fact that this attack was not stopped even though it could have easily been prevented is a cause for concern,” said Ativ Aswarala (‘24).

Former President Trump has denied any responsibility for the violence and has defended his speech on the basis of election integrity. However, the Committee has noted that this is “no defense” and that no President has the capacity to ignore the courts and purposely violate the law. 

“It is my opinion that the events of January 6 were not a spontaneous outbreak of violence, but rather a calculated and orchestrated assault on our democracy,” said Srinija Attaluri (‘24). 

However, there have been concerns about the lack of information about social media within the report. The House commission held a 122-page memo about the role of social media that was not included in the official report due to bipartisan pressure. This raises questions for some citizens about the completeness of the report. 

In conclusion, the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was a shocking and unprecedented event in American history. Two years later, the attack has been thoroughly investigated and the horrors that befell the nation on that day have been written in the pages of history.