Note from the Adviser: This piece is being published under the Opinion section as a Call to Action about what our country is facing. If you would like to respond, please leave respectful comments at the end or send us a Letter to the Editor.

On January 6th, one of the most heavily guarded buildings in Washington D.C. was broken into by Trump supporters protesting the election. I know what you are thinking: “How can that be?” “How is it possible for people to get inside at all?” Trust me, I instantly thought of that when I saw angry, childlike people breaking inside. I’m going to give more important information about this topic because it is going to go down as a major event in history.

There was so much unnecessary violence, which ended with 4 shot and killed, and an officer beaten. This is the devastating reality of what a protest and a presidential election can lead to. CNN stated that “flash bangs were heard near the steps of the Capitol smoked filled the sky, officers were seen spraying pepper spray, tear gas was distributed, and people were seen wiping their eyes while coughing”. This quote explains the terrible violence happening, not just anywhere, but at the Capitol over an election, which is mind-blowing. The protest was so crazy that police couldn’t even control it, allowing people to break into the building. There shouldn’t be a chance that a violent person could even step foot on the property of the Capitol, let alone be able to get inside. That just proves that there needs to be new security at the Capitol because that is just so inconsiderate for the security to let that happen.

One black officer was fired for punching one protester in the face instead of shooting them, which was actually a great alternative to shooting. The officer was Ashanti Smith, and according to HipHopWired and NBC Washington, she said the protester was putting her hand in her face aggressively so she reacted with self-defense. This protest was handled way differently than all the other BLM protests where police slammed people down, shot rubber bullets, and threw tear gas. That protest was peaceful, but this was a riot.

Forbes stated that “Vice President Mike Pence was at the Capitol to certify President Joe Biden’s win, Mike Pence had to be evacuated immediately .” That quote explains how careless the protesters were even though the Vice President was in that building at the time, and the protesters were still able to get in, which is so shocking to me.

President Biden, then president-elect, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanded Trump go on national television to demand his protesters to leave as soon as possible. People inside the building had to evacuate the building with gas masks on. They needed masks because smoke grenades were being used, and tear gas was in use also. The protesters were climbing all over the building with Trump signs.

A man from Northwest Arkansas is facing charges for being in Nancy Pelosi’s office, and one man who was seen with Pelosi’s podium during the riot was also arrested.

This protest has made a lot of people angry and upset by seeing the protesters breaking into the Capitol and causing massive chaos. Trump tried building a wall at the beginning of his term to keep criminals out of the nation, but we have criminals doing unimaginable things right there in the Capitol.

I asked one of my close friends Michelle, who also goes to Doherty High School about her opinion on the protestors at the Capitol. She responded, “I felt enraged and disrespected about the people going into the Capitol. And it didn’t make sense how the police and security didn’t put their all in trying to stop the protesters.”

The LA Times argued that “ the people who stormed the Capitol building last week were not “protesters” or “marchers,” and they weren’t participating in a ‘rally.’ The Capitol building was invaded by domestic terrorists in an armed insurrection.”

This was a riot. Our country needs to make a change very quickly because things like that are not going to bring peace to our world. Violence is not going to solve everything; we need to come together as a community and make a change immediately. In the future to prevent this from happening, we need to have much better security at the Capitol. Donald Trump definitely needs to be held accountable for the riot at the Capitol and should have demanded control over his protesters.