On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob^[39]^[40]^[41] of supporters of then-president Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,^[42] two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep him in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of the president-elect Joe Biden. The attack was unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election.^[43]^[44] Within 36 hours, five people died: one was shot by the Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes, including a police officer who died of natural causes a day after being assaulted by rioters.^[d]^[34]^[45] Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack killed themselves within seven months.^[35] Damage caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million.^[46]

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Quick Facts Date, Location ...

January 6 United States Capitol attack

Part of attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election and domestic terrorism in the United States

Crowd outside the Capitol during the attack (top); bear spray deployed against a line of policemen (bottom left); attackers breach a police line (bottom right)

Date

January 6, 2021; 4 years ago
c. 12:53 p.m. – 5:40 p.m.^[1] (UTC-5)

Location

The Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., United States

38°53′23″N 77°00′33″W

Caused by

False claims of 2020 presidential election fraud made by Donald Trump and his allies^[2]^[3]^[4]
Denial of the 2020 presidential election results^[2]
Far-right extremism in the United States^[5]

Goals

Disrupt and delay the Electoral College vote count
Pressure Congress and Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election of Joe Biden in favor of Trump

Methods

Resulted in

Attack unsuccessful

Insurrection suppressed
Fatalities and injuries among both the attackers and law enforcement^[a]
Assaults on at least 174 police officers^[15]
Delay of counting electoral votes by several hours^[16]
Extensive physical damage;^[7]^[17]^[18] offices and chambers vandalized and ransacked; property stolen;^[19] more than $30 million for repairs and security measures^[20]
Second impeachment of Donald Trump^[21]
Third indictment of Donald Trump^[22]^[23]
Unsuccessful attempts to declare Trump ineligible for Colorado, Maine, and Illinois ballots^[24]
Trump pardons or commutes the sentences of all rioters in 2025^[25]

Parties

Pro-Trump, far-right militias and movements

Proud Boys
Oath Keepers
Factions of the Three Percenters
QAnon movement
White supremacists, neo-Fascists, neo-Nazis, and neo-Confederates
Various far-right movements

(Full list)^[26]

United States federal government, D.C. and state governments

Lead figures

Vice President Mike Pence
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Steven Sund

Casualties and criminal charges

Death(s)

On January 6

1 rioter killed by gunshot
1 rioter died from drug overdose
2 rallygoers died from natural causes^[31]

Afterwards

1 police officer died of a stroke exacerbated by the attack
4 police officers died due to suicide^[b]

Injuries

Unknown number of rioters
At least 174 police officers,^[15] including at least 15 hospitalized^[36]

Charged

1,500 or more, including Trump^[c] (see also: Criminal charges relating to the attack and 2025 pardons)

Close

Encouraged by Trump,^[47]^[48] on January 5 and 6, thousands of his supporters gathered in Washington, D.C., to support his false claims that the 2020 election had been "stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats",^[49]^[50] and demand that then-vice president Mike Pence and Congress reject Biden's victory.^[51] Starting at noon on January 6 at a "Save America" rally on the Ellipse,^[52] Trump gave a speech in which he repeated false claims of election irregularities^[53] and said, "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore".^[54]^[55] As Congress began the electoral vote count, thousands of attendees, some armed, walked to the Capitol, and hundreds breached police perimeters.^[56]^[57] Among the rioters were leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia groups.^[58]

The FBI estimates 2,000–2,500 people entered the Capitol Building during the attack,^[59]^[60]^[61] some participated in vandalism and looting,^[62]^[63] including in the offices of then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Congress members.^[64] Rioters assaulted Capitol Police officers^[65] and journalists.^[66] With building security breached, Capitol Police evacuated and locked down both chambers of Congress and several buildings in the Complex.^[67] Rioters occupied the empty Senate chamber while federal law enforcement officers defended the evacuated House floor.^[68]^[69] Pipe bombs were found at the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters, and Molotov cocktails were discovered in a vehicle near the Capitol.^[70]^[71] Trump resisted sending the National Guard to quell the mob.^[72] Later that afternoon in a Twitter video,^[73] he restated false claims about the election and told his supporters to "go home in peace".^[74]^[75] The Capitol was cleared of rioters by mid-evening,^[76] and the electoral vote count was resumed and completed by the early morning of January 7, concluding with Pence declaring the final electoral vote count in favor of President-elect Biden. Pressured by his cabinet, the threat of removal, and many resignations, Trump later conceded to an orderly transition of power in a televised statement.^[77]^[78]

A week after the attack, the House of Representatives impeached Trump for incitement of insurrection, making him the only U.S. president to be impeached twice.^[79] After Trump had left office, the Senate voted 57–43 in favor of conviction, but fell short of the required two-thirds, resulting in his acquittal.^[80] Senate Republicans blocked a bill to create a bipartisan independent commission to investigate the attack,^[81]^[65] so the House instead approved a select investigation committee.^[e]^[82]^[83] They held televised public hearings on the attack,^[84] voted to subpoena Trump,^[85] and recommended that the Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecute him. Following a special counsel investigation, Trump was in August 2023 indicted on four charges,^[86]^[87] which were all dismissed in November 2024, following his reelection to the presidency.^[88] Trump and elected Republican officials have promoted a revisionist history of the event by downplaying the severity of the violence, spreading conspiracy theories, and portraying those charged with crimes as hostages and martyrs.^[89]

As of May 2024, of the 1,424 people then charged with federal crimes relating to the event^[90] 1,010 pled guilty,^[90] and 1,060 had been sentenced, 64% of whom received a jail sentence.^[90] Some participants in the attack were linked to far-right extremist groups or conspiratorial movements, including the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, and Three Percenters,^[91]^[92] some of whom were convicted of seditious conspiracy.^[93] Enrique Tarrio, then chairman of the Proud Boys, received the longest sentence, a 22-year prison term.^[94] On January 20, 2025, upon taking office, Trump granted clemency to all January 6 rioters, including members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers along with those who violently assaulted police.^[25]