Joel Banner Baird, Burlington Free Press
Published
2:01 pm UTC Jan. 15, 2021
On Jan. 6, a pro-Trump mob laid siege to the U.S. Capitol where U.S. representatives and senators were meeting to certify the election of Joseph Biden as the next president of the United States.
The riot that left five dead, forced members of Congress and their staff to evacuate or shelter in barricaded offices and left extensive damage inside the Capitol started as a rally called by President Donald Trump to support his false claims that the election was stolen from him through fraud.
At least two Vermonters knew that Washington, D.C., would be an unusual place to be on that day.