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Jan 6 Capitol Riots: One Year On
January 6 marks one year since the US Capitol riot, where thousands of Donald Trump supporters assaulted police and took over the building
The attack came in response to Joe Biden being declared the next president in place of Trump.
The former president fuelled protestors by alleging the election was stolen from him.
The events of the day were watched on with horror and disbelief with even Trump’s own party criticising his and the mob’s actions.
Since the attack on the Capitol, senators, representatives and police officers who were in the building have chronicled their trauma.
Alarmed that little had been changed to prevent a repeat of events in the future.
A day that was meant to bring the country together, only widened the divide.
A Washington Post survey found that one in three Americans believe that violence against the government can be justified a significant increase compared to previous decades.
US President Joe Biden gave a speech to mark the insurrection.
Since then, more than 725 people have been arrested for storming the US Capitol building with charges ranging from obstruction of an official proceeding to assault.
But Nancy Pelosi, The Speaker of the US House of Representatives says the attack was not enough to prevent democracy.
Vice President Kamala Harris labelled the day as one of the most memorable in US history.
She says the attack provided Americans with a preview of what their nation would look like if the forces who seek to dismantle our democracy are successful – the lawlessness, the violence, the chaos.”
We spoke to a Senior Fellow at the United States Studies Centre earlier who says that Americans are becoming concerned about the state of democracy in their country but that Biden is determined to maintain it.