Talk:January 6 United States Capitol attack

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This article has previously been nominated to be moved. Please review the prior discussions if you are considering re-nomination. Discussions: RM, 2021 United States Capitol protests → 2021 United States coup d'etat attempt, Not moved, 6 January 2021, discussion RM, 2021 United States Capitol protests → 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Moved, 6 January 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → United States Capitol insurrection, Procedural close, 7 January 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → 2021 breach of the United States Capitol, Procedural close, 8 January 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → The Trump insurrection, Procedural close, 9 January 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → 2021 breach of US Capitol, Not moved, 15 January 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → Storming of the United States Capitol, Procedural close, 16 January 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → Insurrection at the United States Capitol, Not moved, 16 January 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → 2021 Terrorist Attack on the United States Capitol, Not moved, 21 January 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → 2021 United States Capitol riot, Not moved, 23 January 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → 2021 United States Capitol attack, Not moved, 4 February 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → Storming of the United States Capitol, Procedural close, 16 February 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → January 6 United States Capitol attack, Moved to 2021 United States Capitol attack, 31 May 2021, discussion Move Review initiated 1 June 2021. Overturned, moved to 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, 1 August 2021, discussion RM, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol → 2021 United States Capitol attack, Moved to 2021 United States Capitol attack, 2 August 2021, discussion RM, 2021 United States Capitol attack → January 6 attack, Not moved, 7 November 2021, discussion RM, 2021 United States Capitol attack → January 6 United States Capitol attack, No consensus, 8 January 2022, discussion RM, 2021 United States Capitol attack → January 6 United States Capitol attack, Moved, 28 July 2022, discussion RM, January 6 United States Capitol attack → 2021 United States Capitol attack, Not moved, 9 January 2023, discussion RM, January 6 United States Capitol attack → 2021 United States coup d'état attempt, Not moved, 31 January 2023, discussion RM, January 6 United States Capitol attack → January 6, 2021 United States Capitol attack, No consensus, 21 January 2024, discussion RM, January 6 United States Capitol attack → January 6 insurrection, No consensus, 26 January 2024, discussion

This  level-5 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to multiple WikiProjects.

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This article has been mentioned by multiple media organizations: Alex Pasternack (January 14, 2021). "As a mob attacked the Capitol, Wikipedia struggled to find the right words". Fast Company. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021. Alex Hern (January 15, 2021). "Wikipedia at 20: last gasp of an internet vision, or a beacon to a better future?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021. At 6.34pm UK time on 6 January this year, one Wikipedia editor, with the username Another Believer, decided that events in Washington looked important enough to warrant an article. Tentatively titled "January 2021 Donald Trump rally", the initial entry was brief: "On 6 January 2021, thousands of Donald Trump supporters gathered in Washington DC to reject results of the November 2020 presidential election." Heather Kelly (January 15, 2021). "On its 20th birthday, Wikipedia might be safest place online". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021. This month, the online encyclopedia's strengths and quirks were on full display as hundreds of volunteers furiously worked to create a page for the Capitol riots as events unfolded Jan. 6. As it transitioned from a protest to something more violent, Wikipedia's volunteer editors added key details while debating the article title, as shared by editor Molly White. Was it a protest, an insurrection or a riot? It ended up the "2021 storming of the United States Capitol." Hundreds of people were working on the ballooning document at a time, which has now been touched by nearly 1,000 editors, is more than 10,000 words long and has been viewed nearly 2 million times. Stephen Harrison (January 15, 2021). "To Celebrate Wikipedia's 20th Birthday, Try Editing It". Slate. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021. Take the recent debate over the nomenclature that Wikipedia should use to describe last week's frightening events. Should that destruction and violence be described as President Donald Trump's supporters "storming" the United States Capitol, an "insurrection," or a "coup attempt"? Is it "terrorism"? "The long-standing consensus is that article titles on events, such as this, should reflect how reliable sources have described the event," said Chet Long, one of Wikipedia's long-term volunteer administrators, who edits under the username Coffee. The issue here was that reliable sources have covered the event using all of that nomenclature. At publication time, the Wikipedia article is named "2021 storming of the United States Capitol" based on the consensus of editors that the majority of media sources have also characterized it as a "storming." Of course, reasonable minds can disagree on that decision, which developed after spirited, reasoned debate. One thing is clear: That's not a boring issue. The language that the world's most popular internet encyclopedia uses to describe the events of Jan. 6, 2021, will affect how that day will be perceived by the public in both the short and long term. Grace Gedye (February 4, 2021). "When the Capitol Was Attacked, Wikipedia Went to Work". Washington Monthly. Retrieved February 4, 2021. As protestors at the Capitol turned violent, one major debate among Wikipedia editors was how to describe the event in the page's title. Was it a protest? A riot? An insurrection? A coup attempt? Arno Rosenfeld (April 8, 2021). "ADL may have violated Wikipedia rules — editing its own entries". The Forward. Many of the edits focused on the ADL's research into domestic extremism, including contributions to the articles on the QAnon conspiracy theory, the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and the far-right militia group the Three Perecenters. Stephen L. Carter (August 2, 2022). "Are We in a Recession? Don't Ask Wikipedia". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 2, 2022. And nobody will be surprised to learn that the page designated "2021 United States Capitol Attack" is also partly locked. Fierce argument rages even over what the page should be called.

Current consensus on size and organization: The specific subjects of international and domestic reactions, the aftermath, the death of Brian Sicknick, the law enforcement response, and the events at state capitols and other cities, are not covered in full detail here but in the linked articles. Portions of those articles are transcluded here, if opportune, per WP:SYNC. As long as the article is too long (true as of Nov 5) it should be shortened, but the Very long tag should not be used (for the whole article); instead, Very long section tags could be used. An idea to use more refined methods of managing length (copyediting, moving information to notes, refining/trimming transcluded sections, etc.), instead of further splitting and more routine removal was agreed on here and here. Current consensus on naming and terminology: The page's title was moved to 'January 6 United States Capitol attack' after this move request. The decision to not use the word "urge" in the lead, in reference to Trump's actions, was agreed in this subsection. There is no consensus to call this event Terrorism as per this RFC WP:ACDS actions: Under ACDS, starting Jan 16, a move request cannot be opened nor be closed to move to a title using the word "insurrection" for a month. See the Arbitration enforcement log (diff) for details. Expired since Feb 16, 2021 Under ACDS, only users who possess the extended-confirmed user right may close discussions for this page. See the Arbitration enforcement log (diff) for details.

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This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (center, color, defense, realize, traveled) and some terms may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus. Text has been copied to or from this article; see the list below. The source pages now serve to provide attribution for the content in the destination pages and must not be deleted as long as the copies exist. For attribution and to access older versions of the copied text, please see the history links below. Copied 2021 storming of the United States Capitol (oldid, history) → Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol (diff) Copied 2021 storming of the United States Capitol (oldid, history) → International reactions to the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol (diff) Copied 2021 storming of the United States Capitol (oldid, history) → Domestic reactions to the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol (diff) Copied 2021 storming of the United States Capitol (oldid, history) → Death of Brian Sicknick (diff) Copied 2021 storming of the United States Capitol (oldid, history) → Law enforcement response to the 2021 United States Capitol attack (diff) The content of Save America March was merged into January 6 United States Capitol attack on 6 January 2021. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists. For the discussion at that location, see its talk page. This article has been viewed enough times in a single week to appear in the Top 25 Report 2 times. The weeks in which this happened: January 3 to 9, 2021 (5th) January 10 to 16, 2021 (7th) A special subpage has been created to develop supporting materials for any current or future article naming discussions, on a collaborative basis: Talk:2021 storming of the United States Capitol/Ongoing analysis of naming trends. Please hold a discussion on which evidence is relevant for naming purposes there (particularly pertaining to search engine results). Section sizes Section size for January 6 United States Capitol attack (60 sections) Section name Byte count Section total (Top) 98,330 98,330 Background 35 62,722 Attempts to overturn the presidential election 9,047 9,047 Planning of January 6 events 14,311 26,428 Seditious conspiracy by Oath Keepers and Proud Boys 12,117 12,117 Predictions of violence 14,534 14,534 Law enforcement and National Guard preparations 12,678 12,678 Trump supporters gather in D.C. 14,877 50,291 January 5 meetings 3,718 3,718 Bombs placed 5,155 5,155 January 6 Trump rally 13,191 26,541 Trump's speech 13,350 13,350 Attack on the Capitol 4,220 84,100 Proud Boys march to Capitol as mob assembles 4,064 4,064 Bombs discovered near Capitol Complex 181 181 Attack begins near Peace Monument, led by Proud Boys 14,352 14,352 Attackers on west terrace breach Senate Wing hallway 16,489 16,489 Evacuation of leadership amid Capitol lockdown 27,296 27,296 Oath Keepers arrive and breach Rotunda 2,458 2,458 Ashli Babbitt killed by police while attempting to breach Speaker's Lobby 7,494 7,494 Attack on the tunnel 5,912 5,912 Police clear the Capitol and Congress reconvenes 1,634 1,634 Federal officials' conduct 31 51,919 Trump's conduct 11,518 31,645 Inflammatory speech while knowing of weapons 2,931 2,931 Allegation of assaulting a Secret Service driver 4,650 4,650 Endangering Mike Pence 9,617 9,617 Failure to end the attack 2,929 2,929 Capitol Police leadership's failure to prepare 2,770 2,770 Department of Defense leadership's refusal to send Guard 12,153 12,153 Congressional conduct 2,900 2,900 Deletion of Secret Service and Homeland Security text messages 2,420 2,420 Participants, groups, and criminal charges 6,738 64,206 Proud Boys 4,106 4,106 Oath Keepers 6,207 6,207 QAnon 9,264 9,264 White supremacists, neo-Nazis, and neo-Confederates 12,409 12,409 Others 8,206 8,206 Police and military connections 6,168 6,168 Analysis 11,108 11,108 Results 12 26,863 Casualties and suicides 14,735 14,735 Damage 8,243 8,243 Laptop theft and cybersecurity concerns 3,873 3,873 Aftermath 16 21,862 Political, legal, and social repercussions 10,027 10,027 Domestic reactions 3,633 3,633 International reactions 144 144 14th Amendment disqualification 3,402 3,402 Sarbanes–Oxley Act prosecutions 2,397 2,397 2025 pardons and commutations 2,243 2,243 Analysis and terminology 1,767 12,328 Historians' perspectives 10,561 10,561 See also 1,533 1,533 Notes 31 31 References 14,532 14,532 External links 962 10,059 Federal government 3,126 3,126 Video 2,140 2,140 Timeline 3,831 3,831 Total 498,776 498,776

"United States Capitol attack" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect United States Capitol attack has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 August 18 § United States Capitol attack until a consensus is reached. ArthananWarcraft (talk) 05:43, 18 August 2025 (UTC)