Four years after Capitol riot, Congress certifies Trump reelection in quiet affair

WASHINGTON (CN) — It was eerily silent on a snow-capped Capitol Hill Monday morning as lawmakers convened to certify President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in November.

Wind whipped across the snow-dusted plaza in front of the Capitol as groundskeepers worked desperately to clear the snow that continued to pile up at the building’s marble steps. Groups of police officers wearing heavy reflective coats trudged through snow drifts, weaving between half-buried temporary fencing.

But it wasn’t just the day’s heavy snowfall — which shuttered federal agencies across Washington and brought dozens out for sledding and impromptu snowball fights — that contributed to the unusual quiet around the Capitol.

Monday marked the four-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, during which a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building as lawmakers voted to confirm President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.

Rioters, spurred on by baseless claims of election fraud perpetuated by Trump and his allies, overwhelmed U.S. Capitol Police and broke into the complex in an effort to stop Congress from certifying Biden as president-elect. The now-infamous attack killed several people and injured hundreds.

This year, the grounds around the heavily fortified Capitol were mostly empty. Two layers of scale-proof fencing sequestered the Capitol Hill complex from the rest of Washington, with checkpoints staffed by groups of U.S. Capitol Police officers.

Inside the perimeter, an army of law enforcement on foot, on bicycles and in mine-resistant armored vehicles patrolled the snow-covered streets.

Capitol police were assisted by a cadre of other law enforcement agencies, including a large contingent from the New York Police Department and officers from surrounding Maryland jurisdictions.

Just one protester, 29-year-old Maxwell Goddard, pitched up outside of the Capitol as lawmakers certified Trump’s win.

Goddard, a trail crew worker with the U.S. Forest Service in New Hampshire, said he wanted to speak his mind to senators and representatives during a tour of the Capitol but came up short, leaving him standing outside of the eight-foot barricades in snow.

He said he was horrified when he watched the Capitol riot unfold four years ago.

“Ever since, I’ve learned more and more of what actually happened and what failures of government actually went on,” Goddard said. “I’ve tried to express to the people around me how much that day mattered, even if they don’t think it does or even if they think it’s disconnected from their lives.”

Holding a sign reading “14th Amendment Section 3,” Goddard also expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing Trump on 2024 ballots despite the insurrection. He said his goal was to get the message in front of representatives that lawmakers still could invoke the removal power.

Despite his dismay with Trump’s election, however, Goddard said he wanted the certification and transfer of power to be peaceful.

“That was my problem with the last time,” he said of the violence on Jan. 6, 2021.

No objections

Inside the Capitol, too, the scene was a far cry from the events of 2021. Lawmakers certified President-elect Trump’s victory on Monday with little fanfare: Unlike years past, no members of Congress objected to the electoral tally in any state.

The joint session of Congress, which concluded in all of 30 minutes, was overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, who joined an exclusive club of vice presidents who have presided over the certification of their own election defeat.

As she entered the House chamber, Harris ignored questions shouted by reporters about how she felt overseeing the certification.

Though the 2021 Capitol riot had little bearing on Monday’s certification, it was still top of mind for many lawmakers, especially Democrats.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, who last week became Senate minority whip, commemorated the riot in a statement, writing that the “solemn proceeding” of election certification had been disrupted four years ago by “Trump-inspired thugs.”

“But out of this darkness, I hope that all of us, regardless of our political persuasion, will finally come to an agreement on one thing — that violence has no place in a democracy, and a day like January 6, 2021, must never happen again,” Durbin said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor Monday, urged Trump not to follow through on his promise to issue pardons for rioters who stormed the Capitol.

“Pardoning the criminals who assaulted police officers and tried to halt the democratic process would be a dangerous endorsement of political violence,” Schumer said. “It would send a message to the country and to the world that those who use force to get their way will not be punished. It is wrong. It is reckless.”

Vice President-elect JD Vance, attending the joint session of Congress Monday in his capacity as Ohio’s junior senator, did not respond to repeated questions from reporters about whether the second Trump administration would pardon Jan. 6 defendants.

Since the Capitol riot, the Justice Department has brought more than 1,500 federal cases against people who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Of those defendants, around 250 have been convicted.

In a statement Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was proud of his agency for the work it has done seeking accountability for the Capitol attack.

“Jan. 6 was a violent attack on the law enforcement officers defending the Capitol, and it was an unprecedented attack on a cornerstone of our system of government — the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next,” Garland wrote.

Meanwhile, lawmakers held up the relatively ho-hum certification proceedings as a return to form for Congress after the process was turned on its head on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Today, we will not see the violence we saw four years ago,” said Schumer. “Today, the process will return to normal and remain solemn, but peaceful. Unfortunately, today stands in sharp contrast to what happened four years ago.”

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