Romney: A Reckoning

The January 6, 2021, insurrection is featured in the prologue and more thoroughly explored in Chapter 15. The text illuminates the insurrection from Romney’s perspective; Coppins demonstrates that Romney tried to prevent it. Five people died either at the scene or in its immediate aftermath, and four responding officers died by suicide within seven months following their experience.

Trump encouraged thousands of his supporters to gather in DC to protest the certification of election results. At the rally, he stood behind a bulletproof glass and urged Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election results, inciting the crowd to violence.

Militia groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers promoted political violence. The far-right participants included anti-vaccine activists, followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, Holocaust deniers, Neo-Nazis, and Neo-Confederates. More than two thousand rioters stormed the Capitol building, vandalizing and destroying offices and corridors. Over 1,200 rioters have been charged for their roles; most of them are white supremacists, conspiracy theorists, militia members, and right-wing evangelicals.

Historians are struggling to characterize this unprecedented assault. The Republican Party continues to be divided by the fallout. Though Ted Cruz acknowledged that the event should be characterized as a terrorist attack, he refused to support its investigation.