A year after Capitol siege, protesters in Triangle say democracy is still under attack
The United States has never fully realized its founding ideals of democracy, and the failed siege on the U.S. Capitol a year ago proves that some people want to make sure it never does, protesters said Thursday on the anniversary of the event.
“January 6 showed the world that democracy is a threat to white supremacy, and white supremacy is a threat to democracy,” Adrienne Kelly, interim co-executive director of Democracy North Carolina told about 150 demonstrators outside the Federal Building on New Bern Avenue in Raleigh at midday.
The gathering was one of several planned for the Triangle and hundreds held across the nation to commemorate the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol to try to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election as president.
Other events were planned for Raleigh in the afternoon and evening, as well as in Chapel Hill and Durham.
Kelly and others said the siege in Washington was fomented by a mass disinformation campaign around former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims about election fraud. To her, Kelly said, the insurrection was evidence of “inter-generational bigotry and entrenched white supremacy” the nation has yet to overcome.
While rioters were unsuccessful, protesters noted Thursday, their efforts showed how fragile democracy is.
“Conservative ideologues tried to overturn a free and fair election,” said another speaker, Briana Brough, North Carolina digital organizer at All on the Line. ” I think a lot of us are still finding it difficult to grapple with the fact that this insurrection actually happened. Our democracy is fragile, and we must hold insurrectionists and their enablers responsible.”
Beyond pursuing criminal punishment for those who participated in the siege, speakers said, the government must act to protect free and fair elections. Specifically, they pushed for Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, the Protecting Our Democracy Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act — federal legislation aimed at preserving voting rights, preventing abuses of presidential power and international interference with elections, and other reforms.
The protest at the Federal Building was organized by the North Carolina contingent of the national Poor People’s Campaign. Its co-founder, the Rev. William J. Barber, likely would have attended but recently tested positive for COVID-19. He has said he is fully vaccinated and has mild symptoms but is doing well.
Speakers noted that as the protests and vigils were going on, North Carolina’s new redistricting maps were being litigated in Wake Superior Court, where voter-advocacy groups sued lawmakers, claiming they had intentionally created political maps that unfairly favor Republicans.
Arguments in the trial concluded Thursday. A decision by a panel of judges is expected by next Tuesday.
The event at the Federal Building drew a mostly white crowd that skewed toward middle-age and older. A few couples came with young children. Representatives of the Poor People’s Campaign provided signs for those who didn’t make their own, featuring phrases such as “Protect Our Democracy Now” and “Remember Jan. 6.” Speakers admonished those in attendance to vote during this year’s midterm elections and to make sure others register and go to the polls.
Between speeches, protesters marched a short distance past the front of the heavily guarded Federal Building, turned a corner and returned. Along the way, a caller chanted into a megaphone, “What does democracy look like?” and the crowd responded, “This is what democracy looks like.”
Drivers along New Bern Avenue and Person Street occasionally honked their horns in apparent support.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 2:34 PM with the headline "A year after Capitol siege, protesters in Triangle say democracy is still under attack."
