Joe Biden calls Jan 6 insurrection 'existential crisis'; says 'democracy did prevail'

“That was not the dissent. It was disorder,” were the words of US President Joe Biden on Tuesday as the United States marked the six-month anniversary of the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Delivering a speech at a presser as he called on the for a bipartisan effort to investigate what happened on that day, Biden urged the Americans to stand up to the “lies”. The capitol riots, he said, were an “existential crisis and a test of whether our democracy could survive—a sad reminder that there is nothing guaranteed about our democracy.” But he went on to add, that despite the shocking display of lawlessness, “democracy did prevail”. 

On January 6, the then-President Donald Trump’s MAGA supporters, far-right extremist groups, and QAnon members stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to halt the congressional counting of the Electoral College votes that would certify Joe Biden’s presidency. They broke barricades outside Capitol Hill and marched into the building, scaling walls using scaffolding and breaking windows to gain entry. At least 5 law enforcement officers were killed while trying to restore law and order. Officials later made hundreds of arrests linked to the breach of the Capitol and have been working towards bringing seditious conspiracy charges against the GOP donors, members of the far-right militia who were among the violent mob.

On Tuesday, Biden asserted that the Americans must continue the work to protect and preserve the democracy. Both IS President and the First Lady also sent their condolences to the families of Capitol officers injured or killed during the insurrection saying, "We pray for them and for our nation.”

"Together, let us demonstrate to ourselves, and to the world, the enduring strength and the limitless capacity and goodness of who we are as Americans," said the US President. “Not even during the Civil War did insurrectionists breach our Capitol, the citadel of our democracy"

He continued, "But six months ago today, insurrectionists did. They launched a violent and deadly assault on the people's house, on the people's representatives, and on the Capitol police sworn to protect them, as our duly elected Congress carried out the sacred ritual of our republic and certified the Electoral College vote."

US Air Force member Ashli Babbitt was shot dead

Among the casualties was Ashli Babbitt, military personnel seen with trump flag in the CCTV footages released later, who was shot by a Capitol officer.  Babbitt led the mob to the government building, smashing glass on the door, as she entered with the insurrectionists to the Speaker’s Lobby of the Capitol. The former had fought two wars with the United States Air Force and had served for 14 years in the military, posted in Afghanistan and Iraq during the wars. Shocked at the police’s firing, Aaron Babbitt, the late Babbit’s husband 39, told a Fox affiliate in San Diego that he had sent his wife a message about 30 minutes before the incident. Three other former President Donald Trump supporters suffered medical emergencies.