Terrorists Storm Capitol Hill After Trump Rally; Academy Responds

By Indrani Basu, Ella Brady, Matt Dame, Jennifer Finkelstein and Andy Horrigan

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A violent mob of Trump supporters broke into the Capitol Building on Wednesday afternoon to protest the confirmation of Electoral College votes for President-elect Joseph R. Biden. In response to the unprecedented violence in the nation’s Capitol, Exeter Principal William K. Rawson sent an email to students and employees at 5:50 p.m. EST on the same day, suspending Wednesday evening classes and Thursday assignments.

“We realize that many students will want to spend this time with family and friends at home. We also realize that you may want to come together with your Exeter family,” Rawson wrote. “The peaceful transfer of power is a bedrock feature of our democracy in the United States. Today’s events are profoundly alarming.”

Director of Equity and Inclusion Stephanie Bramlett sent an email shortly after on behalf of Counseling and Psychological Services, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Office of the Dean of Students and Religious and Spiritual Life, inviting students to “process and share a space with Exeter counselors and other adults” at 8:00 p.m. EST. Approximately 30-40 students attended and discussed the events surrounding the rally. 

Trump told the rally-goers, “We will never give up. We will never concede.” Members of the mob waved flags bearing various symbols, including the Trump 2020 slogan, the Gadsden flag, the Confederate flag and the Nazi swastika.

According to the New York Times, the mob broke through a police barricade at the foot of the Capitol steps and made their way to the portico as the confirmation proceedings were underway around 2:15. After minutes on the portico, the mob pushed to enter the Capitol building where the House and the Senate were still in session. 

At 2:21 p.m., Vice-President Michael Pence was escorted off of the Senate floor to a secure location as conditions worsened outside. About nine minutes later, the mob breached National Statuary Hall. A few blocks away from the Capitol, an explosive device found at the headquarters of the Republican National Committee and a suspicious package in front of the Democratic National Convention prompted their evacuations.

Inside, the police scuffled with the mob, while some police allowed the infiltrators to take photos with them. Later, the mob broke through the locked and barricaded door to the Senate floor. 

At around 4 p.m., Biden delivered a speech addressing the violence at the Capitol and criticized Trump, who, at the time, had yet to release a statement. 

“I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege,” Biden said.

Once the building was secured, a video statement from President Trump’s Twitter played over loudspeakers, where Trump still claimed that the election was stolen but that the violence needed to stop. “You have to go home now… [and] we love you,” Trump told the mob.

After Mayor of Washington, D.C. Muriel Bowser announced a 6:00 p.m. curfew, the National Guards of D.C., Maryland and Virginia surrounded the mob. As of publication, there are a dozen or so members remaining, according to The Washington Post. At 8:00 p.m., Congress reconvened to record the votes of the Electoral College. 

Community Perspectives

Many Academy students were stressed and horrified by the day’s events, and frequently communicated with friends and faculty virtually. “I've spent a large part of my day stressing about news updates on everything happening in the Capitol,” prep Dubem Akunyili, who lives near D.C. said. “I feel ashamed that this occurred in our country. I find it sad that people are not able to understand the importance of a peaceful transition of power.”

“It’s complete and total hypocrisy. There’s no better way to describe it. It’s hypocrisy because if these people were Black, it would’ve been a massacre,” upper Siona Jain said. “If these people looked like me, they would’ve been named terrorists immediately. The privilege that this predominantly white, predominantly male crowd holds is horrifying.”

Jain emphasized the display of racial oppression in the response to this event. “Only 12 people have been arrested tonight for this domestic terrorist attack. Where is the resistance? It shows how clear and pervasive racism is within our policing system, without even considering that this system was created to be racially oppressive,” she said. 

“Not only was this insurrection completely unjustified and spurred by a childish man who loves to incite violence, but it also exposed the incredible hypocrisy of American policing. There is absolutely no reason that anyone should have been able to storm the U.S. Capitol while Congress was in session,” senior Maegan Paul said. “I am completely appalled by the fact that disgruntled Americans, who are average in most regards, were able to breach the security of a building and space so vital to the progression of American politics.”

“We watched as domestic terrorists walked calmly through the Capitol while defiling property and accessing the personal office spaces of congressional leaders with incredibly valuable security clearances,” Paul continued. “Even in spite of the disastrous national security issues actively unfolding before our eyes, the Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers treated these rioters with more kindness than they have Black people allegedly using counterfeit bills at a store. It's sickening, and this only further fuels my distrust of our current leadership.”

“We cannot let this be another negligible addition to the long list of abhorrent occurrences from Trump’s presidency… this display of hatred should energize us to take actions against tyrannical forms of government,” Paul said.

Lower Asa Campbell agreed. “The actions of these alt-right Trump supporters are reckless, hypocritical...criminal, [and] completely unwarranted. I have friends in [D.C.], so along with being worried about them, I have also been worried about the future of our government.” 

“The events that occurred this afternoon at our country’s Capitol are undeniably disgusting. As a resident of DC, I am scared for my city’s immediate safety and for the broader future of American politics,” senior Emilio Abelmann said. “What we witnessed today is an utter neglect of the keystones of our democracy. The acts are not patriotic in the slightest.”

“As it has been said by many people today, the events at Capitol Hill were a breach to our great democracy,” upper Josephine Elting said. “Supporters of Trump have every right to protest and be sad at the results of the election. But they do not have the right to overtake federal property, and even worse halt the Senate from ratifying the election.”

“I fear events like we see today are going to continue to happen as long as the polarization and divide in this country persists,” upper Akili Tulloch said. “I hope like anyone else I'm shocked at what unfolded at Capitol hill. I literally had [woken] up from a nap to hear about the death of the woman who got shot.”

Science Instructor Kadeine Peterson expressed her disappointment about the disorder surrounding this transition. “I am deeply disturbed by the acts of domestic terrorism occurring in our nation’s capital. I became a Citizen of the United States seven years ago and voted for the first time in 2016,” she said. “I have always been proud of the democratic processes of this Nation so this blatant disregard for a peaceful transition of power has left me saddened, and angered.”

“If the group of people storming the Capitol were mostly Black, brown or otherwise non-white able-bodied males, the response would have been incredibly different in terms of violence used upon their persons. And still, there are those who would deny that this act was supported by white supremacy,” Peterson said. 

“Seeing the side-by-side comparisons of how police treated the pro-Trump protesters versus BLM protesters made me even more aggravated and that hypocrisy once again highlighted the white supremacy so blatantly present in our country. In my hometown, I remember watching the unadulterated aggression the police deployed on civilians protesting for justice for BIPOC folks. Today, however, pro-Trump protesters were being escorted out of the Capitol building,” upper Michelle Park said.

“Truthfully, it’s incredibly disappointing that someone who praises white supremacists for raiding the Capitol building, endangering the lives of so many Senators and government officials, is the person that we call the President of the United States,” Park continued. “It makes me wonder where the ‘Law and Order’ that President Trump raged about regarding the Black Lives Matter protests are today.”

“To me you can have your own opinions, but you can't have your own facts. It's factually incorrect that the election was stolen and that Trump really won by a landslide,” History Instructor Betty Luther-Hillman said. “The fact that he's stating these lies and inspiring his supporters to violence is not just irresponsible, or really dangerous. It's setting a precedent that, if you don't like the election results, you should take matters into your own hands. And in fact he essentially said that to his supporters.” 

“What happened today isn't even about if you support Trump's ideology. It’s ‘do you support democracy?’” Luther-Hillman said.

Students and faculty alike applauded the Academy’s decision to suspend classes and assignments. “I will always support any decision by the school that recognizes that the community experiences life outside of the pages of a textbook,” Peterson said. “We live life in real time and thus, should be prepared to respond as global situations arise.”

Luther-Hillman said, “There are things more important than having class every day. I know that sometimes it can be helpful to have something to distract oneself when we're kind of helpless at this moment, but I think it's also good to take some time to process.”

“I appreciate the school’s response to this, especially changing homework deadlines, because I was glued to the news all of today and wouldn’t have gotten anything done. Though I definitely hoped that the school made a more public response condemning all the mob behavior of the Trump supporters,” senior Panchali Choudhary said.

“If the point of the institution is to produce civically engaged citizens of any country, they need to facilitate awareness of current events. This is also incredibly disturbing for those whose lives are imminently threatened by white supremacy, and I'm glad that they have space to process,” senior Phil Horrigan said. “Also, I know for a fact that I would have half-***ed everything tonight.”

“I think it’s considerate, however, it doesn’t erase the knowledge that white supremacy is still exceedingly ubiquitous and powerful,” Park said.

Other students were ambivalent on the Academy’s decision. “The mental health of the student body is low and the Academy could do much more to support us. But in times of uncertainty and chaos, education is important,” Elting said.

“My parents have always said that the most important gift they will ever give me is an education,” Elting continued. “I think it shows strength to continue educating in times like these. In the Civil Rights movement African Americans endured a lot to say the least. Regardless of what was happening, they still went to school and showed that the most extreme situations will not stop them from becoming better smarter people. I think that the Academy had an opportunity to show that today.”

Students, faculty, and other community members interested in writing opinion pieces should contact the Editor-in-Chief Daniel Zhang at dzhang@exeter.edu.