Institute of Politics

The January 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol was a pivotal moment in modern American history.

Baseless claims of a stolen election fueled an already angry base gathered near the Capitol, who were encouraged to take action as electors certified the 2020 presidential results. The ugly and sobering series of events resulted in chaos and death while laying bare the political divisions the country is facing today.

In the past, Americans have often unified in the face of tragedy. In October 2001, Pew Research found 60 percent of American adults expressed trust in the federal government; the highest figure since the 1970s. As recently as 2017, one in five Americans cited the nation’s response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as the time they were most proud of their country. Yet in the months after the storming of the Capitol, Americans’ perception of January 6 is sharply divided. Republicans have become less concerned about the need to prosecute those who broke into the Capitol while Democrats are more likely to say the penalties facing the perpetrators are not severe enough, according to Pew Research. While the nation’s political system has become more fractured in recent years – a 2020 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found 85 percent of registered voters describe Americans as being greatly divided in their values – the fragmentation between Democrats and Republicans is hardly isolated to the 2020 election.

Although the assault on the nation’s most important symbol of democracy was unprecedented, democracy prevailed, even if the country is still reckoning with the historic day. In the aftermath, the justice system has taken action to hold those who participated in the riot accountable while lawmakers are continuing to investigate the attack, issuing subpoenas to hear testimony from key witnesses within the Trump administration.

How did the everyday divide between Democrats and Republicans factor into the events leading up to January 6th? How will the day be remembered in the future? How can the nation move forward in an increasingly bitter and divided political system? What punishment should the perpetrators of the riot face? What lessons can be learned from previous periods of tumult in American history? Joining us for this conversation on the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol will be:

• Andrew McCabe, former Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Robert Pape, University of Chicago

• The conversation will be moderated by Hannah Allam, a Washington Post national security reporter who focuses on extremism and domestic terrorism.