A speaker in the Senate newsroom sounded an ominous warning on the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, and a voice announced the shutdown as I sat at my desk in the Capitol.
“Foreign security threat,” I wrote in my notebook, jotting down what I was hearing. “Move away from the windows and doors.” Then: “Seek cover.”
That’s how I knew four years ago that something went wrong – very wrong – during a routine event on Capitol Hill: the confirmation of the results of the presidential election.
This year, Jan. 6 is back to what it always was: a constitutionally mandated, legally mandated, and general process of peaceful transfer of power, where Congress confirms what has already been decided in a democratic election.
After the chaos, some Republicans tried to pass off the day as a peaceful protest or a general march. Mr. Trump, who has vowed to pardon those persecuted for their role, called it a “day of love.”
In many ways, the country and the Congress have moved on. Little has been said about the violence of the past four years. The Democrats who once said they could not cooperate with those who called themselves election deniers now find themselves needing to cooperate with the Republicans, who will control all the government after the swearing in of Mr. Trump on January 20.
Mr. Trump, who has tried to rewrite the history of that dark day, has returned to the presidency – officially. Americans, still critical of the election attacks, have decided to prefer him over Democrats on issues including the border and the economy.
But it’s worth remembering how it was in Jan. 6, 2021, when the Capitol endured the worst attack since the War of 1812, and imagine how different things were on Monday.
After the speaker announced the shutdown four years ago, I jumped from my seat in the Senate Press Gallery on the third floor of the Capitol to see a crowd of Mr. well maintained foundations. I had experienced large protests before, but apparently this had taken a dark and violent turn.
This year, the grounds of the Capitol were a silent and empty sky covered in snow due to a big winter storm, fenced off and largely closed to the public by a large black fence, keeping them free from protestors and any disturbance.
At that time, I rushed to the Senate gallery facing down where the senators, including a number of octogenarians, were gathered, guarded by the Capitol Police. The assistants locked the doors against the incoming crowd, and I felt panic begin to creep into the room. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, was looking at her phone when she yelled, “Shots fired!” warns other lawmakers of the growing danger.
We later learned that a Capitol Police officer shot and killed a protester outside the building.
On Monday, Ms. Klobuchar was among the members of the legislature who participated in the counting of electoral votes in each district to confirm the election of Mr. He humbly said that each book he was reading was “in order and true,” before the count continued without interruption.
In 2021, Vice President Mike Pence was presiding over the Senate when security officials quickly escorted him out as police pressured senators to leave as the crowd poured in. “We have to move, Senator,” another officer said. he told Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Democrat, pulling him by his collar. The officers helped the elderly pick up their desks and exit through the side door.
While on the balcony, some reporters started shouting in the room below, asking where we should go. “What about us?!”
We were guided through the Capitol’s labyrinthine tunnel system.
As lawyers and staff ran out, some Senate aides were determined to snatch the boxes containing the Electoral College certificates, making sure that the vandals could not steal the results of the election.
Outside the Senate house, more than an hour into the protest, I finally got together with my phone that I had left on my desk in a hurry. There were a lot of messages from colleagues, editors and friends, some asking me to just reply and let them know that I’m fine.
I heard later that we had left the room just before the crowd.
On Monday, the situation was very different. Mrs. Harris presided consistently and smoothly over the legalization of his defeat without interruption, as Mr. Schumer sat watching, after declaring, “Our loyalty to the Constitution and the law.” The mahogany boxes that held the electoral votes remained where they belonged on the House floor.
Journalists sat staring in the House gallery above, tapping away on their laptops harmlessly in the air.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former GOP leader, wasn’t even at the Capitol to witness Monday’s hearings. Four years ago, he delivered a fiery speech on the Senate floor, warning that if Republicans followed Mr. Trump in the stolen election, democracy will enter the “death stage.” That was just seconds before a security officer pulled him off his feet as they led him away from the protesters who breached the Senate.
Soon after, I finally reached a safe place, sat down and was filled with anger rather than fear.
Thousands of people had come to one of the most important places in American democracy, smashing windows, smashing offices and hurting people for what they thought was a righteous cause – but one built on a false foundation.
As a journalist, it became clear what my role was: I opened my laptop.
In that protected area, I and other members of the media do our constitutional duty under the First Amendment. We were not heroes; that title goes to the police departments of the Capitol and the Metropolitan Police who retaliated against the attackers and finally confirmed the transfer of power that day between the presidential administration. I got to know several of them in the months that followed.
But we do our job as best we can. The room was filled with members of the smart police team with long guns.
In a secure room next to ours, the senators had started talking in low voices about how the election counting should be conducted. We heard a round of applause in what we would later learn was the moment they decided to return to the Senate that night to finish counting the votes.
“We will not give up on finishing the job,” Ms. Klobuchar said at the time.
It could take hours for lawmakers to ratify Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory. Some Republicans continued to oppose the former vice president’s win.
It finally ended at 3:41 am on Jan. 7 – about 14 hours after the start of the session.
On Monday, the same job took 30 minutes.
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