Trump Rally in Washington, DC January 6th, where some reports say upwards of 2 million people gathered. Photo courtesy Elmoudjaweb

An unarmed woman loses her life at point blank range. Five people… dead. Several hospitalized, injured, and arrested.

The Standard newspaper distributed 10,000 copies of a “Special Election Edition” of the Columbia newspaper to the crowd estimated at between 1-2 million people.

Tear gas ascended, rubber bullets rained down and tensions burst into riot as a day of joy filled rallying and peaceful protest turned into chaos on January 6th at the Capitol building where a joint session of Congress met to count and certify the state’s electors of the 2020 Presidential election. What led to the disaster at the Capitol?

They arrived at the crack of dawn. The cold and dreary morning didn’t dampen the spirits of Trump supporters who traveled from pretty much every state in the Union to support their champion and the current President Donald J. Trump.

Some brought their children, others their pets- even some others brought their entire families. They came in wheelchairs and guilly suits–they came from the town of Bedrock. The vast majority of the sea of red, white, and blue had two things in common: their affinity for Trump and demand for justice.

Many came to be a part of history to witness a once in a lifetime phenomenon. A phenomenon where an estimated hundreds of thousands of Trump’s supporters waving banners, frothing with expectation had hoped that their elected Representatives and the Vice President Michael Pence would do their duty to uphold the Constitution and reject electors that were certified by Governors in states whose election results have been contested. States that are not only in pending litigation, but have confirmed election irregularities and fraudulent activity which they believe to be enough to be considered election outcome determinative.

The Save America March featured several high profile Conservative pundits, lawyers, and legislators including Don Jr., the President’s son, Rudy Guiliani, and Madison Cawthorn a 25 year old, who uses a wheelchair after being critically injured in a car accident in 2014. Madison now a Republican House Representative, became the youngest elected Republican Member of Congress in history on November 3rd, 2020.

After several speakers encouraged the rally goers. The charismatic President Donald J. Trump addressed the crowd. For over an hour he chided his adversaries and pulled no punches. President Trump praised law enforcement, Rudy Giuliani, and his many allies who have joined the effort to challenge the election results in the 7 disputed swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. He recounted the thousands of affidavits of fraud, irregularities, and ballot discrepancies making his case for a stolen election.

The day of excitement and zeal from a rally that stretched from the lawn of the ellipse to the base of the Washington monument transformed into a March down Constitution avenue after President Donald Trump urged supporters to take their protest to the Capitol building where the joint session of Congress was scheduled to meet.

The protestors streamed onto the Capitol grounds in overwhelming numbers. Capitol Hill Police Officers removed barriers to give protestors better access.

Even so, several Trump supporters testified that they peacefully encompassed the Capitol building, but were met with Tear gas and rubber bullets.

Ashli Babbitt was the woman shot and killed during Capitol riot inside US Capitol.

In some areas, Patriots called out Antifa members who had disguised themselves as Trump supporters, or were simply taking opportunity in the chaos for vandalism and violence as they tried to break through windows and doors.

Antagonizing police, organized assaults, rubber bullets, tear gas… it feels as if this movie is a rerun of a bad B flick called 2020. In other areas, instigators in black helmets and some wearing all black drove the mob into a frenzy. The instigators and vandals successfully broke through barriers, windows, and doors and in the wake of their destruction Trump supporting protestors made their way into the Capitol building. This kind of behavior: breaking through barriers and entering into federal buildings violently is all too familiar these days.

But this one has a plot twist. We are not so familiar with seeing unarmed, female protestors shot dead by law enforcement.

Thirty five year old Ashli Babbit becomes a martyr for a movement. The unarmed Air Force veteran from San Diego, California was fatally shot as she attempted to crawl through the broken window of a door barricaded in the inner chambers of the Capitol.

Four more lives would be lost in the melee including a Capitol Hill police officer.

All of these details beg questions. Where were the ANTIFA counter protesters? Were the Trump supporters committing seditious acts of terror? Or were they taking a stand against tyranny to secure the blessings of liberty for their posterity?

Zoe Warren is a photojournalist. He is also a husband, father of 3, missionary, musician, filmmaker, documentarian, and storyteller. He is the founder of Pistuo Productions, a narrative film and commercial video production company, the media ministry God’s Plain Truth TV, the Pakistan mission organization Gospel Fire Army, and the studio music project “Striving and Rest.” Warren may be reached at pistuoproductions@gmail.com.

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