On January 6, 2021, the world watched as a mob of Trump supporters rioted and took over the US Capitol in Washington, DC. News outlets, social media, and smartphones buzzed with all sorts of information, some factual and some not as much. It’s our duty as your library to provide reliable information and educational materials, so we’ve compiled a helpful list of resources to provide some insight after the events that transpired last week.
- Timeline of events
- (NYTimes.com) How a Presidential Rally Turned Into a Capitol Rampage
- Get access to NYTimes.com here.
- (NYTimes.com) How a Presidential Rally Turned Into a Capitol Rampage
- Fact Checking and Misinformation
- (News Literacy Project) Mob reality | Antifa falsely accused | Riot or coup?
- (News Literacy Project) News Lit Quiz: Should you share it?
- The best way for you to help reduce misinformation online is to avoid sharing it. But can you tell the difference between social media posts that are false or misleading and those that are credible? TAKE QUIZ
- Help! What do all these words mean?!
- (The Marshall Project) A Civilian’s Guide to Insurrection Legalese
- Everyone’s talking about sedition, treason and conspiracy. Here’s what these terms actually mean and how they’ve been enforced.
- (The Marshall Project) A Civilian’s Guide to Insurrection Legalese
- What does impeachment mean?
- IMPEACHMENT (from Encyclopedia of American Government and Civics): Impeachment is the political process provided in the U.S. Constitution for investigating and potentially removing a specific class of officials from public office as punishment for political offenses. It has parallels to but is wholly separate and distinct from the criminal process […]
- (NYTimes.com) Live Updates: The House, With Some G.O.P. Support, Votes to Impeach Trump a Historic Second Time
- Get access to NYTimes.com here.
- (NPR) House Impeachment Vote: Live Updates
- (Pantsuit Politics) Pantsuit Politics podcast called “5 Things You Need to Know About Impeachment”
- (OPINION – The Washington Post) There’s no time to impeach Trump. Censure him instead.
- What about treason?
- 18 U.S. Code § 2381 – TREASON (Legal Information Institute): Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
- (The Washington Post) President Trump has committed treason
- (Chicago Tribune) What legally qualifies as treason, sedition or a coup?
- (Forbes) The Legal Fallout Expected After The Capitol Riots
- What’s up with the 25th amendment?
- 25TH AMENDMENT (from Constitutional Amendments): The Twenty-fifth Amendment establishes procedures for filling the office of president and vice president in the event either office falls vacant. Section 1 states that on the death or removal from office of the president, the vice president is to assume the presidency. Section 2 says that when the office of vice president is vacant, the president is to appoint a vice president, who then is to be confirmed by majority votes in the Senate and House of Representatives. Section 3 specifies the procedures a president is to follow if he or she is unable to fulfill the duties of the office and wishes to delegate the duties of the office to the vice president. Section 4 provides guidance in the event that Congress or the officers of the executive branch – that is, the Cabinet – conclude that the president is unable to discharge the duties of the office and has to be temporarily replaced […]
- (NYTimes.com) The House formally called on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to strip Trump of power. He declined.
- Get access to NYTimes.com here.
- (YouTube: LegalEagle) The 25th Amendment
- Can President Trump be removed via the 25th Amendment? Maybe!
- Why the 14th amendment?
- 14TH AMENDMENT SECTION 3 (from Encyclopedia of American Religious History): No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability […]
- (The Washington Post) There’s an alternative to impeachment or 25th Amendment for Trump, historians say
- Can social media companies censor Trump?
- (AP News) EXPLAINER: Can social media companies boot Trump? Yes
- The short answer is yes. As the Congressional Research Service has explained in a report for federal lawmakers and their staffs, lawsuits predicated on a website’s decision to remove content largely fail. That’s because the free speech protections set out in the First Amendment generally apply only to when a person is harmed by an action of the government.“The First Amendment doesn’t apply to private sector organizations. That’s not how this works,” said Chris Krebs, when asked Sunday whether censorship by social media companies violated freedom of speech protections.
- (Forbes) Why Social Media Companies Can Censor Trump, And Why Your Boss Can Censor You
- (AP News) EXPLAINER: Can social media companies boot Trump? Yes
- Police Treatment towards Capitol mob
- Image Galleries
- How do I talk to kids about this?
