United States (Internal)

In unprecedented turn of events, mob entered U.S. Capitol, briefly disrupting transfer of power and leaving several dead; President Biden’s inauguration 20 Jan held peacefully. In major show of force and amid U.S. President Trump’s contestation of 2020 presidential election result, tens of thousands of Trump supporters, including far-right Proud Boys and followers of QAnon conspiracy theory, 6 Jan gathered in capital Washington as Congress convened in Capitol to certify result. During address, Trump repeated baseless fraud claims and urged supporters to “stop the steal”; thousands then marched on Capitol, where they managed, despite police presence, to break into building; police hustled members of Congress out of chamber to undisclosed locations while others took shelter in offices. Later that day, security forces regained control of Capitol, and members of Congress reconvened and certified election result; several also demanded investigation of security failures, amid reports that some rioters planned to abduct or even kill members of Congress. Unprecedented security incident left four rioters and one Capitol policeman dead, over 140 officers also injured; as of 31 Jan, 135 rioters arrested. House of Representatives 13 Jan voted to impeach Trump on “incitement of insurrection” charge, making him sole U.S. president to be impeached twice; House speaker 25 Jan sent impeachment article to Senate with trial set for 9 Feb. National Guard 18-19 Jan deployed in downtown Washington to deter repeat of Capitol riot at 20 Jan inauguration ceremony. Inauguration of President Biden and VP Kamala Harris 20 Jan proceeded without incident; during address, Biden called for unity, promising to “defeat” what he described as “domestic terrorism”. During first weeks in office, Biden 20-31 Jan signed 42 executive orders, including one reversing Trump’s ban on travel from Muslim countries. Earlier in month, in run-offs in Georgia, voters 5 Jan elected two Democratic senators, resulting in 50-50 party balance in Senate (and giving VP Harris deciding vote as president of Senate). Meanwhile, COVID-19 continued rapid spread, with death toll topping 438,000 (and 24 mn vaccinated) as of 31 Jan.