It sounds alarmist, and it should: the future of democracy is at stake in the United States. What we experienced a year ago is just a taste of things to come, says DW's Ines Pohl.
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Trump supporters rallied at the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021Image: Artur Gabdrahmanov/Sputnik/picture alliance
The attack on the Capitol in Washington exactly one year ago should not have come as a surprise.
Before the polls had even opened in the 2020 US presidential campaign, then-President Donald Trump announced there could only be one reason for his loss of the White House: election fraud. He was not going to accept defeat, nor would millions of his supporters.
Close to a coup
Trump lost. And his radical supporters stormed the Capitol on the day Congress was to formally confirm Joe Biden's election. Images of the Capitol riot shook the world.
Ines Pohl is DW's bureau chief in WashingtonImage: DW/P. Böll
However, it's only been a few weeks that we've known how close the US came to a real coup d'etat. It was only thanks to the presence of mind of a few officials that the country averted a bloodbath in the House of Representatives.
We could possibly even have had a dead vice president, murdered for following democratic rules and not the president's orders. It was a very close call.
But what should have been a wake-up call for all democratic forces regardless of party affiliation has become just another political football in the destructive spectacle of American politics.
To this day, most Republicans are trying to hinder the clarification of the events of January 6, 2021. Instead of coming to their senses and returning to a political contest for the more convincing argument, one in which facts and respect for different opinions play a role, the trench warfare has only deepened.
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Democrats dangerously divided
Since day one of the Biden era, Republicans have been preparing for the next presidential campaign. While the ruling Democrats are caught up in infighting among various factions, even the deadly COVID-19 crisis is being politically exploited. The Republicans are blocking key federal financial aid to prevent the Biden administration from scoring points for the next election campaign.
What is most dangerous, however, is the redrawing of electoral districts, or gerrymandering, which will curtail the basic democratic rights of Blacks and other minorities. In addition, various other requirements are all intended to achieve the same thing: preventing potential Democratic voters from casting their ballots.
Looking back at the US Capitol riot
On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol, refusing to accept the confirmation of Joe Biden's election as president. Investigations into the riot are ongoing.
Image: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/picture alliance
Pro-Trump crowd gathers outside US Capitol
On January 6, thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump flocked to the US Capitol, waving flags and claiming the election had been stolen from their political idol. Later, some 800 protesters stormed the iconic building, hunting down lawmakers, beating up police officers and leaving a trail of destruction. Five people died in connection with the riot and dozens were injured.
Image: Leah Millis/REUTERS
Trump remains defiant
Many observers later said the riot marked an attempt to overthrow the government, instigated or orchestrated by the former president. A select committee of the US House of Representatives has begun investigating the events, and Trump's possible role in them. For his part, Trump has claimed there was "love in the air" on January 6.
Image: Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo/picture alliance
Legitimate protests?
The Capitol riot sparked global outrage. Many Republicans still, however, say the incident was a legitimate means of protest against what they claim was a rigged election. Some Republicans have even staged rallies outside US prisons in support of jailed rioters. The exact interpretation of the January 6 events will certainly have a big impact on the US midterm elections in November 2022.
Image: Brent Stirton/Getty Images
More than 700 charged
Hundreds of individuals are facing prosecution over their role in the January 6 attack. So far, over 50 people have been sentenced for their actions on that day. Many left a slew of evidence on social media, boasting of their crimes, which has helped in handing down convictions. Defendants willing to plead guilty can hope to receive a reduced sentence.
Image: Brent Stirton/Getty Images
Proud Boys under growing scrutiny
The city of Washington, D.C, is suing members of the right-wing extremist group Proud Boys, loyal Trump supporters, to recoup damages for the Capitol attack. Authorities have accused the group's leaders of having conspired "to terrorize the District of Columbia" in "a coordinated act of domestic terrorism." Criminal charges have already been brought against several Proud Boys members.
Image: Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images
Panel probes role of firebrand radio host
Radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is considered a key instigator of the Capitol riot. He drummed up support for the pro-Trump march in Washington, calling for a million people to turn up and protest against allegedly corrupt Democratic Party. The congressional panel investigating the events of January 6 has found Jones helped finance the rally.
Image: Jon Cherry/Getty Images
Jacob Chansley, 'QAnon Shaman,' jailed
Images of Jacob Chansley, a topless, tattooed rioter wearing a striking, horned headdress, went around the globe. He soon became a symbol of the January 6 attack. Now, the self-proclaimed "QAnon Shaman" and conspiracy theorist from Phoenix, Arizona, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in jail.
Image: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Police officers traumatized
Capitol Police officer Aquilino Gonell broke down as he rewatched footage of the deadly riot during a hearing of the congressional panel investigating the attack in July. That day, Gonell recalls, he thought "this is how I'm going to die, defending this entrance." One of Gonell's fellow police officers was killed in the Capitol riot, and four others committed suicide in the months that followed.
Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Security failures led to Capitol storming
The reason die-hard Trump supporters managed to force their way into the Capitol is that US security agencies were unprepared. The US Senate found that despite warning signs of a potential attack, the police leadership failed to act: National Guard reinforcements were called in too late, and the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security downplayed the threat of violence.
Image: Al Drago/Getty Images
Is a Trump comeback possible?
Many political analysts predict Donald Trump will run again in the 2024 presidential election. While his supporters would be elated, critics would surely regard this as a nightmare come true. Until now, Trump has weathered practically all political scandals — not even his role in the January 6 Capitol attack seems to have undermined a potential comeback.
Image: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/picture alliance
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Basic democratic pillars not so secure
The United States was proud of the achievements of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and justifiably so. As flawed as the country continues to be, the basic pillars of a democracy seemed secure, along with the right to vote for all citizens.
That is no longer the case. We have to brace for the worst in a country where thanks to social media having changed the rules of the game, racist conspiracy theorists spread faster than the actual positions of the incumbent president.
At least for the moment, no one seems to have an answer for how to stop populists who are willing to overturn the system in order to secure lasting power for themselves.
This opinion piece was originally written in German
