Friday marks two years since thousands of individuals stormed the U.S. Capitol in an apparent effort to disrupt the certification of President Biden’s presidential win.
One of the rioters was fatally shot by Capitol Police during the attack and more than 900 were charged with crimes.
On Jan. 6, 2021, after weeks of then-President Trump claiming the 2020 election was ‘rigged’ in favor of Biden, thousands of his so-called supporters broke off from a rally he held at Freedom Plaza near the White House and marched toward the Capitol complex.
Lawmakers were forced to evacuate the complex and temporarily suspend the certification of the Electoral College results as rioters plowed through police perimeters, breached the building and occupied it for several hours.
Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran, was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer while attempting to force her way into the House chamber. Another person died during the riot after suffering a drug overdose, and two others died naturally from medical emergencies.
Brian Sicknick, a 42-year-Capitol Police officer, was pepper-sprayed during the chaos and died the next day after suffering from two thromboembolic strokes. Four other officers who responded to the riot committed suicide in the months following.
The counting of the electoral votes resumed hours after the riot, and then-Vice President Mike Pence certified Biden as the winner.
Trump was impeached by the House one week after the riot for ‘incitement of insurrection,’ with 10 Republicans voting in favor — the most pro-impeachment votes ever from a president’s party. Trump left office on Jan. 20 and was acquitted by the Senate more than three weeks later.
The Jan. 6 riot was investigated by a House select committee, which released its final report shortly before Christmas.
The final report, which culminated a lengthy 18-month investigation, detailed the committee’s findings on the Capitol protests, alleging Trump played a key role in motivating it. Through 814 pages, the committee members — seven Democrats and two Republicans — annotate interviews from more than 1,000 witnesses, information obtained from millions of pages of documents and the contents of 10 public hearings.
Mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser told the House select committee investigating the Capitol riots that police had suffered ‘intelligence failures’ due to believing the rioters would be sympathetic to law enforcement.
An estimated 978 capitol protesters have been charged with crimes in the aftermath of Jan. 6, according to a December report from Insider.
Biden, along with other Democrats, have used the events of Jan. 6 to target Trump and his supporters.
‘Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic,’ Biden said during a September speech in Philadelphia. ‘MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of the law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election.’
The White House is expected to hold a ceremony on the two-year anniversary of the riot on Friday.
Biden is expected to bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the second-highest civilian award, to members of the Capitol Police who defended the building on Jan. 6.
Fox News’ Michael Lee, Jon Brown, Brooke Singman, Lawrence Richard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
