On January 20, 2020, more than 20,000 armed protesters, militia members, neo-Nazis, and other right-wing extremists descended on the Virginia Capitol and occupied the Capitol grounds.
The FBI detained and charged a small cell that planned specific acts of violence during the 2020 occupation of the Virginia Capitol, which was a dress rehearsal for the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.
On January 6, 2021, a violent mob encouraged by loser President Donald Trump sought to stop the peaceful transition of power to President Joe Biden, the duly elected winner.
Trump tried to sow doubt about his rejection and defeat, but those claims were what Attorney General Bill Barr called “bullshit” and there is ample evidence that Trump knew it.
“Trump’s intention was to remain president of the United States despite the lawful outcome of the 2020 election and in violation of his constitutional obligation to relinquish power,” said Republican Rep. Liz Cheney.
During the rampage, Trump supported rioters’ threats to hang the former vice president during the attack on the Capitol, saying “Mike Pence deserves it,” according to testimony from former White House aides.
Beyond the tiny band of deluded misfits who considered martial law and other extreme measures, for a moment on January 6, 2021, Americans from almost all points on the political spectrum united in fear, revulsion, and condemnation of the Trump coup plot.
Fox News’ Laura Ingraham theorized that the attack was secretly the work of left-wing extremists.
Since then, the true Big Lie of American politics has been that the insurrection was not an attempted coup, was not an affront to decency and our democratic values, and was not a serious blow to our Republic.
Trump’s efforts to overthrow the 2020 election results were nothing less than an attempted coup d’etat that resulted in the attack on the Capitol.