MoCo Students React To Capitol Riots
Outside the US Capitol on January 6th. Photo Courtesy of abcnews.go.com
At approximately 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2020, members of the 117th United States Congress had to stop confirming the electoral votes of the 2020 Presidential election so they could take shelter and begin evacuating the House Chamber of the United States Capitol.
Outside, a massive pro-Trump mob had breached the building, breaking windows and attacking Capitol Police while proceeding to loot, vandalize and occupy the building for several hours in attempts to overturn the election results.
This attack came after former president Donald Trump called on a crowd of supporters during his Save America rally in Washington D.C., earlier that morning saying, “If you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore” and instructing them to march to the Capital to, “cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them.”
Throughout his speech, Trump continued to push the false narrative that fraud had led to his losing the 2020 presidential election.
Many of the individuals caught vandalizing the Capitol building that day have been exposed as believers of QAnon, a far-right conspiracy that alleges that a group of elitist Satan-worshipping pedophilic Democratic politicians, journalists, and entertainers have sought to undermine former President Donald Trump in order to prevent him from winning the presidential election.
This conspiracy started early in Trump’s presidency on forum sites like 4chan and 8chan, but their message quickly seeped into more mainstream social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram as the 2020 presidential election approached. Believers of QAnon commonly spread false information regarding Black Lives Matter protests, COVID-19, and of course the 2020 presidential election with their slogan “Stop the Steal”.
Trump has repeatedly shown support for QAnon, frequently reposting from QAnon accounts on Twitter, saying that those who support it are “people that love our country,” and flashing their slogan during his speech at the Save America rally, “To use a favorite term that all of you people really came up with, we will stop the steal.”
The riot at the U.S. Capitol resulted in five deaths, over 175 arrests and the resignation of 11 officials from the Trump Administration.
The breach of the United States Capitol building was unprecedented in modern US history.
Given the gravity of the situation, The Comenian asked Moravian students to share their thoughts on the event.
Most responded with utter disbelief, while others acknowledged the event as a result of years of misinformation put out by Trump and his administration. One senior year music education major said, “I must say I thought it was an absurd action, but I am genuinely not surprised that individuals of this country convinced themselves it was ok to do this.”
There has been some debate in the mainstream media on whether or not Trump himself instigated the violence that occurred at the Capitol in his speech on that same day.
Some students felt that the attack had a direct correlation to the type of language Trump used in his speech, while others like health science major Blake Shuck ’22 said, “I do not believe that Donald Trump orchestrated this, but I do believe that he greatly contributed to the violence and destruction – at least in part. Although he did not specifically tell these supporters to storm the capital, after they remained there for a while, he continuously encouraged them to continue.”
Given that the mob set out to overturn the results of a fair election, it’s easy to see the events of Jan. 6 as a threat to democracy in America.
All students who were interviewed agreed that the storming of the Capitol only weakened their views of U.S. democracy.
“I think this event shows how fragile our democracy is,” One junior year psychology major said. “Whoever is in power has a lot of influence not only in the U.S. but on the entire world. One person can be responsible for inciting so much hatred, division, and violence and can try to undermine everything. I think we are still fragile as a nation right now. We are extremely divided still, and the storming of the capitol has only made it worse.”
With a new presidency now in full swing, we’ll have to see how the country changes over the course of the next four years. Hopefully, we as a country will be able to recover from this tragedy and move on together as a more united nation.
Response for Mike • Feb 11, 2021 at 12:32 pm
Mike –
Thank you for the time you’ve taken to leave your comment. Please allow me to respond to your heavily misguided and uninformed opinions.
Firstly, nowhere in this article does Sam make the claim that America is a pure democracy. That was hardly the point of the article in the first place. She was merely referring to the democratic processes that take place in the country, of which voting was the crux of this whole event.
Secondly, if you really mean to describe the event that took place at the capital as a completely normal process that happens when challenging election results, your judgment is terribly clouded. This went MUCH farther than a simple challenge of election results or making sure there wasn’t any fraud. Even AFTER it was confirmed that this was the safest election in the history of the United States by the department of homeland security and AFTER Trump’s appointed lawyers concluded that the claims that the election was stolen were completely baseless, many Republicans, including Trump, continued to call the election rigged and stolen. This led to his supporters (and don’t even try to claim that it wasn’t his supporters there, just look at the massive amount of Trump gear at the insurrection) committing this act of terrorism. This fraud that you are citing is extremely insignificant and not nearly enough to overturn the election. There has never been a widespread and meaningful case of voter fraud enough to overturn elections in modern America. Questioning the validity of elections IS welcomed, but calling it fraudulent without any evidence is NOT because it led to THIS.
Thirdly, I love that you brought up BLM in an article that has nothing to do with it. It really reveals some underlying prejudices you might have. But just for fun, I’ll tear these points apart as well. To compare the largest civil rights movement in history to this act of terrorism at the capital is extremely ignorant. Let’s take a look at some statistics: What percent of BLM protests across America were peaceful? 93%. How many insurrections against the capital by Trump supporters were peaceful? 0% Not to mention that, and there’s video proof of this, most BLM protests that turned violent were the result of police officers turning peaceful protests violent. You’d have to literally be blind not to see this.
Fourthly, Trump’s condemnation of this event was the weakest condemnation of an act of terrorism I have ever seen from a person holding public office. If you recall, his video condemning the act included the words “we love you” and “you’re very special”. To say that conservatives also condemn this event is a straight-up lie. There are plenty of Republicans holding major office that have not condemned this event. Some have even cheered it on.
Fifthly, Biden HAS condemned violence when it comes to BLM protests. He instead supports peaceful protests. Another lie. To reference your quote from a democratic representative, I agree that that was a distasteful and inappropriate comment. But let’s be honest, Trump’s presidency has been full of those.
Lastly, to call this piece biased is ridiculous. It is a simple retelling of the events at the capital. Not to mention the fact that the title of this piece includes “Students React”, meaning of COURSE you’re probably going to hear an opinion that you may or may not agree with. This in NO WAY reflects Sam’s reporting on this event.
I also want to make it clear that I do not align myself with Democrats nor Republicans and I encourage you to do some research before you comment again. Thank you for your time and have a great day.
Mike • Feb 9, 2021 at 8:55 am
Ok, so my response was deleted because it was critical of this article. But, the above response was allowed because it regurgitated the same sympathies. I thought MC students were a bit different in that they had not been conforming with other US colleges and universities. After seeing what has transpired over the past 5-10 years at Moravian I know that I was wrong in my assessment. I give this ten minutes before this is deleted too.
Joyce Hinnefeld • Feb 7, 2021 at 3:31 pm
Thank you for this excellent recap of the events of Jan. 6 and for your investigation into Moravian students’ reactions, Sam; this is a fine article. And I second Dr. McClelland’s faith in this generation of young people. You all give us hope!
Sara J McClelland • Feb 6, 2021 at 5:40 pm
The line, “All students who were interviewed agreed that the storming of the Capitol only weakened their views of US democracy. ” really impacted me. I hope that anyone feeling that way can re-evaluate the situation. The insurrectionists led by President Trump tried to over throw our democracy, but they did not succeed. Transition of power did occur. The youth voter turnout was the highest it’s ever been, and it made a real impact on the electoral results in November. I hope that if you take anything away from this, that it will encourage you to continue being agents of change by voting in every election, holding those in government to the duties of their office, and even running for office yourselves. Any one can have a lot of influence in the world. You can be the vehicle of influence by listening to others, speaking out against injustices, spreading the knowledge you’re gaining at Moravian, and being united with others regardless of their race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. By standing up and spreading love, any of us can make a positive difference in the world. This generation, your generation, of college students are constantly amazing me and inspiring me with your drive and tenacity of spirit, filling me with hope for the future of our democracy.
Mike • Feb 5, 2021 at 9:14 am
First, The US is not a democracy. It is a republic. The representatives are the voice of their constituents. The congressmen and senators who challenged the election results were the voices of their constituents and their States. The challenging of this election should have been viewed no differently than the democrats challenging the results of the ’16 election, or ’04 election, or ’00 election. Voter fraud has been documented in NJ. They know how it is done, especially with mail-in ballots. Questioning the validity of these results should have been welcomed, and States should have been transparent in ensuring their fellow States that their processes were sound. Second, BLM/Antifa/Progressives have been far more instrumental in inciting violence, hate and destruction than any “one person.” See riots in Baltimore, St Louis, Albuquerque, Kansas City, Kenosha, Seattle, Portland, NYC, LA, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, etc., etc., etc. BLM/Antifa caused more than $2M in damage to the FEDERAL building in Portland, OR. Bridges across Chicago had to be raised in order to prevent more rioters and looters from streaming into the city center this summer due to a fabricated story about a cop shooting a black youth. The events on January 6th have been condemned by conservatives and Trump supporters, which is what you do NOT see when BLM/Antifa/Progressives commit such acts. Recall Maxine Waters (D) yelling “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them! And you tell them that they are not welcome, anymore, anywhere!” Recall Harris (D) committing to posting bail for rioters. Recall Clinton urging Biden to NEVER concede. It is disheartening to see the biased (and/or indoctrinated) nature seep into Moravian’s student body. You cannot be critical of others while not being critical of oneself. Mike (’99)
For Mike • Mar 3, 2021 at 5:33 pm
Mike –
Thank you for the time you’ve taken to leave your comment. Please allow me to respond to your heavily misguided and uninformed opinions.
Firstly, nowhere in this article does Sam make the claim that America is a pure democracy. That was hardly the point of the article in the first place. She was merely referring to the democratic processes that take place in the country, of which voting was the crux of this whole event.
Secondly, if you really mean to describe the event that took place at the capital as a completely normal process that happens when challenging election results, your judgment is terribly clouded. This went MUCH farther than a simple challenge of election results or making sure there wasn’t any fraud. Even AFTER it was confirmed that this was the safest election in the history of the United States by the department of homeland security and AFTER Trump’s appointed lawyers concluded that the claims that the election was stolen were completely baseless, many Republicans, including Trump, continued to call the election rigged and stolen. This led to his supporters (and don’t even try to claim that it wasn’t his supporters there, just look at the massive amount of Trump gear at the insurrection) committing this act of terrorism. This fraud that you are citing is extremely insignificant and not nearly enough to overturn the election. There has never been a widespread and meaningful case of voter fraud enough to overturn elections in modern America. Questioning the validity of elections IS welcomed, but calling it fraudulent without any evidence is NOT because it led to THIS.
Thirdly, I love that you brought up BLM in an article that has nothing to do with it. It really reveals some underlying prejudices you might have. But just for fun, I’ll tear these points apart as well. To compare the largest civil rights movement in history to this act of terrorism at the capital is extremely ignorant. Let’s take a look at some statistics: What percent of BLM protests across America were peaceful? 93%. How many insurrections against the capital by Trump supporters were peaceful? 0% Not to mention that, and there’s video proof of this, most BLM protests that turned violent were the result of police officers turning peaceful protests violent. You’d have to literally be blind not to see this.
Fourthly, Trump’s condemnation of this event was the weakest condemnation of an act of terrorism I have ever seen from a person holding public office. If you recall, his video condemning the act included the words “we love you” and “you’re very special”. To say that conservatives also condemn this event is a straight-up lie. There are plenty of Republicans holding major office that have not condemned this event. Some have even cheered it on.
Fifthly, Biden HAS condemned violence when it comes to BLM protests. He instead supports peaceful protests. Another lie. To reference your quote from a democratic representative, I agree that that was a distasteful and inappropriate comment. But let’s be honest, Trump’s presidency has been full of those.
Lastly, to call this piece biased is ridiculous. It is a simple retelling of the events at the capital. Not to mention the fact that the title of this piece includes “Students React”, meaning of COURSE you’re probably going to hear an opinion that you may or may not agree with. This in NO WAY reflects Sam’s reporting on this event.
I also want to make it clear that I do not align myself with Democrats nor Republicans and I encourage you to do some research before you comment again. Thank you for your time and have a great day.