January 6 Insurrection
In the summer of 1864, Confederate General Jubal Early led a daring campaign that brought his forces to the very outskirts of Washington, D.C. The raid was a strategic maneuver designed to relieve pressure on General Robert E. Lee's army, which was besieged at Petersburg, Virginia. By July 11, Early's troops had reached the northern defenses of Washington, D.C., and skirmished at Fort Stevens. The sight of Confederate soldiers within view of the U.S. Capitol dome caused considerable panic among the city's residents. President Abraham Lincoln himself came under enemy fire while observing the battle, making him the only sitting U.S. president to do so.
Despite the initial alarm, the delay at Monocacy and the formidable fortifications around Washington allowed veteran Union troops to arrive from the Petersburg lines. Outnumbered and facing a strengthened defense, Early was forced to withdraw back into Virginia on July 12. Although he failed to capture the city, his campaign successfully diverted Union resources and brought the Civil War to the doorstep of the nation's capital.
A century and a half after the Confederate withdrawal from Washington and following his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump promoted the claim that the election was stolen through widespread voter fraud. This assertion was the basis for an effort to overturn the results. The Trump campaign and its allies filed over 60 lawsuits in state and federal courts. These legal challenges were overwhelmingly rejected, with judges, including many appointed by Trump himself, citing a lack of credible evidence.
The campaign to delegitimize the election culminated in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. A mob of his supporters, spurred by the false claims of a stolen election, violently stormed the Capitol to disrupt the congressional certification of the electoral votes. The riot resulted in multiple deaths, injuries and the triumphant parading of the Confederate battle flag through the halls of the United States Capitol, a feat prevented 156 years earlier only at the cost of the lives of 360,222 Union soldiers. The January 6 insurrection led to the second impeachment of Donald Trump by the House of Representatives for "incitement of insurrection. He was acquitted by the Senate. The claims of a stolen election have been widely debunked by election officials, cybersecurity experts, and the courts.
