January 6: The Insurrection and the Bigger Lie of Erasure
On January 6, 2021, following a rally on the White House ellipse where then-President Trump incited rally goers to march on the Capitol and “never give up the fight”, marchers broke through police lines and illegally entered the Capitol chanting “Hang Mike Pence”. Their goal was to disrupt the certification by Congress of the 2020 election. In the months and years that followed, Trump Republicans sought both to downplay and celebrate the event.
As has been well reported, Trump sat idly by in the White House for up to three hours, ignoring pleas that he call off the rioters. Once order was restored, Congress certified the 2020 election, despite the opposition of 147 Republican congressmen and women.
In the immediate aftermath, several Republican leaders were unequivocal in their condemnation of the attack and where responsibility for it rested. Yet, in the months and years that followed, many claimed otherwise, pretending the day was peaceful or claiming the violence was instigated by the FBI. Republican leaders backed off from their initial condemnations. Trump has called the insurrectionists “patriots” and promised to pardon some of them. And one organization planned to hold a “J6 Awards Gala” on Trump property to pay tribute “to all J6 defendants who have shown incredible courage and sacrifice.”
The Capitol attack happened because Trump and his allies succeeded in spreading the “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen. Considering the volume of video footage showing Trump marchers attacking police and breaking into the Capitol building as well as the testimony of many former Trump administration staff before the January 6 committee, the attempt to recharacterize and erase the events of that day is the Bigger Lie.
