January 6: the beginning of the end to American democracy?

Almost a year since bloody insurrection left five dead, false claim of stolen election continues to fuel a movement

Supporters of US president Donald Trump riot in front of the Capitol building on January 6. Reuters

More details behind the January 6 insurrection in which a mob of former president Donald Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol, some armed with bear spray and carrying zip tie restraints, continue to spill out in court proceedings, leaked documents and on social media.

For months, the Congressional January 6 committee has been investigating what started out as a “Stop the Steal” rally and ended in the deaths of five people, including a Capitol police officer.

The panel has called hundreds of witnesses and summoned some of Mr Trump's closest allies.

The former president spoke at the rally right before the riot began on January 6 and was also taped threatening Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger with legal ramifications if he failed to “find” enough votes to deliver the state.

“What I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than [the 11,779-vote margin of defeat] we have, because we won the state,” Mr Trump can be heard saying to the official in a recording.

In his book Integrity Counts, Mr Raffensperger writes that contrary to the slogans the January 6 mob shouted, election fraud is not systemic, insisting: “Our elections are both fairer and more secure than they have been at any point in our history.”

Nearly a year later, federal prosecutors have charged more than 700 people from more than 40 states for their involvement in the insurrection, with more arrests and charges to come.

One of those arrested following the riot had a list of names scrawled on a piece of paper, including that of Ruby Freeman, a Georgia state election worker.

An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of former president Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021. Reuters

A supporter of US President Donald J. Trump sits on the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after supporters of US President Donald J. Trump breached the US Capitol security in Washington. EPA

Police detain a person as supporters of US President Donald Trump protest outside the US Capitol. AFP

Protesters enter the US Capitol Building. AFP

A protester holds a Trump flag inside the US Capitol Building near the Senate Chamber. AFP

US Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP

Members of congress run for cover as protesters try to enter the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP

Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP

Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP

Congress staffers hold up their hands while Capitol Police Swat teams check everyone in the room as they secure the floor of Trump supporters. AFP

US Capitol Police stand detain protesters outside of the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP

A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits at a desk after invading the Capitol Building. AFP

A protester sits in the Senate Chamber. AFP

Pro-Trump protesters tear down a barricade as they clash with Capitol police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results by the US Congress. Reuters

Police hold back supporters of US President Donald Trump as they gather outside the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP

Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP

A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber. AFP

Riot police prepare to move demonstrators away from the US Capitol. AFP

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol. AFP

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces, as they storm the US Capitol. AFP

A supporter of US President Donald Trump wears a gas mask as he protests after storming the US Capitol. AFP

Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally. AFP

Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol. AFP

US President Donald Trump is seen on TV from a video message released on Twitter addressing rioters at the US Capitol, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC. AFP

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP

Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in the US Capitol Rotunda. AFP

Paramedics perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a patient. AFP

A wounded protester is carried on barricade as demonstrators breach the US Capital building grounds. Bloomberg

US Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi preside over a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 Electoral College results after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol earlier in the day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. EPA

Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of the morning, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington. AP

Most recently, police bodycam footage shows a publicist for Trump supporter Ye (formerly Kanye West) cajoling Ms Freeman to state that the Georgia election was rigged.

This claim of fraud was also supported by congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, in spite of accepting her own election victory that was certified by the same body.

Despite millions of dollars spent on election recounts in several other states, including Nevada and Arizona, no evidence has come to light proving election irregularities.

The fact that the day is viewed through polarising lenses reflects the nature of contemporary US politics.

“It's really the political meaning of it and how this symbolic meaning of an attack on the Capitol and even the verbiage that people might use. Was it an insurrection? Was it a riot? Was it an attack? Was it a demonstration?” said Thomas Balcerski, associate professor of early American history at Eastern Connecticut State University.

The event cast a pall over US politics and analysts wonder how long it will last.

Clifford Young, president of US Public Affairs at Ipsos, an international company specialising in market research and public opinion, believes it is here to stay.

“We are living in an era of hyper-polarisation,” Mr Young said.

“There's a widespread belief the system is broken, that partisan politicians no longer care about the average person and that the system is rigged.”

Mr Trump tapped into that sense of disenfranchisement among primarily white, working-class people across the country, using it to gain a devout following, pitting himself not only against his Democratic rivals but his Republican ones as well.

Donald Trump, the president at the time, speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president in Washington on January 6, 2021. AP

A mob loyal to Mr Trump tries to break through a police barrier at the Capitol. AP

The mob waves pro-Trump flags in front of the Capitol building. AP

Riot police push back a crowd of rioters at the Capitol building. AFP

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol building. AFP

Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump try to open a door of the US Capitol building as they riot in Washington. AP

US Capitol Police push back rioters trying to enter the US Capitol. AP

Police and rioters confront each other in the Rotunda of the Capitol. US Capitol Police via AP

Smoke fills the hallway outside the Senate chamber of the Capitol. AP

Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump breach the Capitol in Washington. AP

Trump supporters, including Doug Jensen, centre, confront US Capitol Police in the hallway outside the Senate chamber at the Capitol. AP

Newly installed razor wire tops the fence surrounding the US Capitol following the January 6 riot. Reuters

Security agents and members of Congress barricade the door to the House chamber as the violent mob breaches the Capitol. AP

Rioter Jacob Chansley holds a sign referencing QAnon as supporters of Mr Trump gather to protest the early results of the 2020 presidential election. Reuters

And more than a year since he lost the election, his presence continues to weigh heavily on the Republican Party and the country as a whole.

Eating their own

The events of January 6 have driven a wedge into the Republican Party that appears to only be widening as time goes on, with little room for moderates.

In May, the party ousted Liz Cheney, daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, from her House leadership position over her denunciation of Mr Trump’s repeated false claims of voter fraud.

“We see how traditional moderate Republicans are no longer traditional nor moderate,” Mr Young told The National. “They're taking very sort of populist positions on things.”

As the party prepares for the 2022 midterm elections, it is leaning towards those populist tendencies and embracing a more conservative base than ever before.

Mr Young said that is not necessarily a bad strategy.

“Looking into 2022, they're going to do pretty well. And so, there’s definitely a high likelihood of them taking the House and a good chance for them to take the Senate,” he explained.

That would make it next to impossible for Mr Biden to carry out his ambitious social and economic reform policies.

Driving through conservative stretches of the country, the former president's continued popularity is on full display, with Trump flags flying high above countless homes and his red “Make America Great Again” caps (made in China) still the standard uniform of loyalists.

Given that Mr Trump is widely believed to be making another run for the presidency in 2024, the politics that he championed and the sentiments that led to January 6 appear to be here for several years to come.