Why Did the Insurrection at the Capitol Happen?

Commentary by Vivian Onyeka-Ben. Photo from: CNN 

FEB. 25, 2021: When Joe Biden won the presidential election in November of 2020, Donald Trump responded by claiming the election was "rigged" and "stolen" without showing any evidence. Trump, his lawyers, and supporters filed record numbers of lawsuits, made more accusations of a fraudulent election, and tried to persuade state legislatures to do something, yet failed. Congress was scheduled to verify the winner of the election on January 6, 2021. But at the same time, Trump delivered his speech that incited his supporters just before they stormed the Capitol.  

In his speech, Trump encouraged his supporters to go down to the Capitol by telling them "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore," and "We're gathered together in the heart of our nation's capital for one very, very basic and simple reason: To save our democracy." This shows that Trump still won't accept the real truth that he lost the election and still believes that the election was "stolen." And this is what caused his supporters to invade the capitol vandalize property, and ransack Congressional offices in order to delay the results, and pressure Congress to overturn the vote count in favor of Trump. As a result, five people died in the insurrection while at least 138 people were injured. 

After watching what happened, I was shocked, disgusted, and saddened. Many of Trump's supporters kept on saying that they’re doing this for a patriotic and honorable reason. But they were acting erratic and chaotic. They stormed a building that symbolizes the democracy of the United States. If Donald Trump had just conceded the election peacefully and accepted the results, this wouldn’t have happened.

Vivian Onyeka-Ben is a senior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.