Nearly a year later, three Donald Trump supporters recalled the siege of the U.S. Capitol

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Trump incited the people with a deceptive speech, repeating his false statement that he won the election in November against Democrat Joe Biden

Washington: They descended on Washington in the thousands, gathering to protest the result of a presidential election that they still claimed was “cheated.”

The US Capitol was attacked, leaving the country wounded.

One year after January 6, 2021, three participants recalled the events of a day that shocked the world.

‘Euphoria’

“January 6 was incredible,” said Samson Racioppi, a 40-year-old Republican Party stalwart who rented several buses to transport people to Washington from his home state of Massachusetts.

The day began with outgoing Republican president Donald Trump facing a sea of ​​supporters waving “Trump 2020” flags in the extreme cold near the White House.

Trump incited the people with a deceptive speech, repeating his false statement that he won the election in November against Democrat Joe Biden.

“I remember the actual feeling that day of euphoria,” said Jim Wood, who came to Washington from New Hampshire. “Seeing all the people.”

Before Trump finished speaking, Wood, who was 60, headed to the Capitol, where Congress proved Biden’s election victory.

Thousands of others did the same and quickly gathered a huge crowd around the brilliant white dome of the Capitol building.

‘Let’s go!’

“Then all of a sudden, you hear, I guess, from my remembrance, screams of, you know, ‘Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,'” said Glen Montfalcone, who also came to Washington from Massachusetts.

“And then that kind of anarchy started to happen,” Montfalcone added.

“People are driving, driving, driving. ‘Go go, forge forward, forge forward,'” he said. “And so we all, we all went forward and started to enter the place, and then climbed the stairs.”

The three men insisted that they did not enter the Capitol itself. They could risk jail if they admit they did.

Hundreds of people flocked to the building, however, including a tattooed, half-naked man wearing horns and a fur hat.

One protester was killed by police.

The world watched live, in amazement, as the fortress of American democracy was attacked.

Wood said the television pictures he saw broadcast the next day at breakfast were “infernal” and most of the protesters remained outside the Capitol.

Over the next few months, two conflicting narratives will emerge.

Trump supporters say it was a peaceful protest against a “stolen” election.

It has been called “terrorism” by police officers who have fought mobs, Democratic lawmakers and even some Republicans.

FBI at the door

At the end of Jan. 6, law enforcement launched a nationwide sweep for participants in the Capitol attack.

Montfalcone had FBI agents come to his door. Several friends were arrested.

At his law school, students unsuccessfully attempted to oust Racioppi.

In Washington, a committee of the House of Representatives is investigating what has been described as an uprising or an attempted coup.

Participants on January 6 rejected this description of the day.

On the contrary, Racioppi proudly said, “this is something I will say to my grandchildren.”

He remains convinced, like many Republicans, that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump, despite the absence of any credible evidence that it happened.

The law student said Jan. 6 was just a battle in an ongoing rivalry.

“We’re looking at it like a war, aren’t we?” Said Racioppi. “And the war is the election in November. And leading up to that war, we’re going to create a series of battles,” he said.

“We will do as much political damage to the left and to those who support tyranny as possible.”

Will he do it again?

“Of course I’ll do it again,” he said.

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