Updated 4:54 PM EST, Mon December 19, 2022
Supporters of Donald Trump breached the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, attacking officers and destroying parts of the building in what was a stunning display of insurrection.
The riot took place as Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. The Capitol was put on lockdown, and it took several hours for it to be secured. Lawmakers evacuated the House and Senate chambers. Vice President Mike Pence was also moved to a safe location.
Congress returned later that evening to certify Biden's victory, but the country — watching the riot live on television — was shaken. The chaos led to the deaths of multiple people on the day of the attack or shortly thereafter. Several officers who responded during the Capitol attack later died by suicide.
More than 800 people were charged by the Justice Department in connection with the riot. Trump was impeached by the House and charged with "incitement of insurrection," but he was acquitted by the Senate in February 2021.
A House select committee was formed to further investigate the attack, and it held a series of public hearings in 2022. In December, the committee voted to refer Trump to the Justice Department on multiple criminal charges, including obstructing an official proceeding, defrauding the United States, making false statements and giving aid or comfort to an insurrection. While the referrals are largely symbolic in nature — as the panel lacks prosecutorial powers and the Department of Justice is already conducting its own investigation — committee members have stressed the move serves as a way to document their views for the record.
