An Act of Resistance Against Trump’s Attempts to Send the January 6 Insurrection Down the Memory Hole

On the fourth anniversary of the Insurrection, Heidi Siegmund Cuda visits the US Capitol to investigate how Trump attempted to decapitate our democracy

Walking toward the US Capitol on Friday in Washington DC, I collapsed with a sudden sorrow. I wept as I made my way inside the building where I had been invited to bear witness to a friend being sworn in.

I hadn’t anticipated my emotional collapse as I laid eyes on the site where four years ago this profound symbol of democracy was desecrated.

I was there in June of this year, my heart still hopeful we could thwart the organized crime ring plotting this decapitation strike on democracy. I was there in 2016, marching with hundreds of thousands of pink-hatted women, confident that we’d oust the out-of-work actor who to Vladimir Putin was just another Viktor Yanukovych.

But as I saw the American flag waving at half mast, to honor the death of President Jimmy Carter at 100 years old, I felt an overwhelming sorrow, as if the death of Carter not only embodied the end of American democracy but also of decency. I thought of Carter’s words from June 28, 2019: “I think a full investigation would show that Trump didn't actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.”

I thought about Trump crony Mike Flynn taking the Fifth over and over again when interviewed by the January 6 Committee. I thought about Roger Stone in the film A Storm Foretold admitting his role in organizing the Insurrection and stating that he knew Trump had lost. I think about how both Stone and Flynn are revealed in the film to be on a phone call. In the film, we witness Stone calling Mike Flynn, a disgraced retired Lieutenant General fired by two presidents, to get his aide bringing retired military on board to promote the Stop the Steal lie.

I thought about how Trump – in the role of the ringleader – encouraged his true believers to show up with his ‘will be wild’ tweet. And how none of these men were ever held accountable for their role in this violent, awful day. And because they were never held accountable, a felon gets another shot at demolishing our nation.