Democratic elected officials commemorated the fifth anniversary of the assault on the Capitol on Tuesday, recalling the brutality of that day, which shook democracy in the United States. For their part, supporters of Donald Trump proudly retraced the journey taken in 2021 around the American Congress.
Published on: 01/06/2026 - 5:37 p.m. Modified on: 01/06/2026 - 11:50 p.m.
On January 6, 2021, hundreds of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, shaking American democracy. Tuesday marked the fifth anniversary of the attack which, one year after the billionaire's return to power, divides Republicans and Democrats more than ever. Because far from the almost unanimous condemnations in the days following the assault, consensus has today disappeared within the political class.
If the Democrats continue to denounce an attack on democracy, the Republican apparatus is today devoted to the 79-year-old president, who has always refused to condemn the actions of his supporters, evoking a "day of love" and an "overflow of affection" towards him.
On January 20, 2025, on his first day back at the White House, Donald Trump pardoned all participants, erasing with a pen the largest investigation ever carried out by the American Department of Justice. He briefly alluded to January 6 during a speech on Tuesday to Republican parliamentarians, again minimizing his role in the violence of that day.
“Let’s all tell the truth”
But the Democratic opposition had warned that it would endeavor, on Tuesday, to keep fresh the memory of the events which shook the American capital in 2021. “Five years ago today, a violent mob brutally attacked the United States Capitol,” Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic leader in Congress, said in a statement. "Their mission was to overturn the results of a free and fair election. We will never allow extremists to cover up their treachery," he added.
In the evening, Democratic parliamentarians gathered on the steps of the Capitol, electric candles in hand, to commemorate the attack and denounce the attitude of the Republicans since it.
The leader of the Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer, castigated in front of the press the publication on Tuesday by the White House of a website, which accuses the Democrats of having “staged the insurrection” and which blames the Capitol police for having “escalated tensions” on January 6, 2021. A “vicious distortion of the truth”, thundered Chuck Schumer in front of the press, who urged: “Let us all tell the truth, and let future generations remember it”.
Enrique Tarrio 'even more proud' to be a Proud Boy
Outside the Capitol, supporters of Donald Trump also marked the fifth anniversary with a march retracing the journey taken in 2021. Among them: Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the far-right Proud Boys militia who, until the pardon pronounced by Donald Trump, was serving a 22-year prison sentence for his role considered key in the events of January 6. Met by AFP on Tuesday, he said he was "even more proud" to be a member of the Proud Boys today, "because we had these graces".
Also read: Capitol attackers, creator of “Silk Road”… They were pardoned by Donald Trump
The exact role of Donald Trump in the events of January 6 was the subject of an investigation by a congressional commission, which recommended criminal proceedings against him in 2022. Indicted in 2023 by a federal court for his allegedly illicit attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, he ultimately escaped criminal prosecution with his victory in the 2024 presidential election.
With AFP
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