The Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and its disruption of the peaceful transfer of power and certification of the election of President Joe Biden remains one of the darkest days in U.S. history. In the ensuing years, it has increasingly defined politics. Biden has made defending democratic norms central to his 2024 campaign and former President Donald Trump has made defending his rhetoric, actions and support for the attack central to his 2024 campaign. Nothing changes what happened that day, though. The terror and violence, the death and destruction. Here are just a few images from that day, and the following morning, to remind people.
12:57PM: Congressional staff carry Electoral College ballot boxes through the Capitol Rotunda to the joint session of Congress in the House chamber to tally the electoral votes for the president and vice president. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)2:10PM: Capitol Police officers flush their eyes in the crypt of the U.S. Capitol after being attacked with bear spray during clashes with protesters. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
2:12PM: A U.S. Capitol Police officer maces the first Trump rioter to breach the Capitol after breaking through a window on the first floor of the Capitol. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)2:14PM: Trump rioters stand on the U.S. Capitol Police armored vehicle as others take over the East Front steps of the Capitol. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)2:23PM: Capitol Police officers attempt to block protesters from entering the Capitol from the House steps. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)2:42PM: Capitol Police draw their guns as Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, blue shirt, uses a sign to drive back rioters attempting to break into the House chamber during the joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., bottom left, and Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., right, are also pictured. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)2:43PM: Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., comforts Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., while taking cover in the visitors gallery as rioters disrupt the joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)5:32PM: Ambulances and fire trucks line Independence Avenue following the attack on the Capitol. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)7:46PM: National Guard troops take the Senate subway as they help secure and clear the Capitol following the attack. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)3:45AM: Vice President Mike Pence, right, and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., embrace after the states’ Electoral College votes were certified for President-elect Joe Biden after the joint session of Congress reconvened in the early morning hours of January 7th following the insurrection. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
