The Buildup – The Attack – Aftermath
A Visual Story of the Capitol Riot
A story told in pictures taken of the online and on-TV content during the unfolding of a dark day in America. The story reconstructs the view most of us had while watching the events that day.
The Buildup.
The morning of January 6, 2020, saw President’s Trump gather for the “Save America” rally close to the White House. The sizable crowd was worked up by the president’s own speech as well as other headliners, such as his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his son. Prompted to march on the Capitol, the crowd grew into a mob and subsequently went on to confront Congress.
The Attack.
Not content to protest outside the Capitol building, the angry mob of Trump's supporters breached the outer perimeter of the building and proceeded to battle the security personnel to gain access to the chambers of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The violent confrontation resulted in fatalities, significant damage to the facilities, and scores of injuries.
Aftermath.
The armed attack on the Capitol truly shocked the world. Drawing near-universal condemnation, the insurrection resulted in a police officer's death and pointed to serious failures of the security services to prevent the assault. As immediate consequences, scores of perpetrators were arrested, and President Trump was impeached, making him the only U.S. president to have been impeached more than once.
Why did I create this story?
Most could hardly have imagined that one day they would see the Capitol, home to U.S. Congress, physically assaulted to cause harm and injury to people's elected representatives.
This unimaginable day unfolded with a rally by President Trump's supporters and ended with calls for his impeachment, which came to pass one week later. In between, the world witnessed an armed insurrection against the house of American democracy, live on TV. As events go, this attack laid down a major new historical marker, one that will be remembered long after all of us who saw it have departed.
Like most Americans, I witnessed the attack from afar, online, and on TV. Outraged by what I saw and intrigued by the challenge of saving the event stream, I thought of taking pictures of the content and organizing it as a visual story. Using a digital camera and employing various image-making techniques, I collected some of the most memorable moments and sequenced them as I thought they played out. This resulted in a three-part story, which is presented on this website.
I hope that this work serves as additional commentary & memorial to a very dark day in America's life, and I am thankful for all those who covered it from close quarters at great peril.