- On Wednesday, pro-Trump rioters stormed the United States Capitol to protest the confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
- Many
influencers and online personalities ranging from Charli D'Amelio to Lil Nas X reacted to the event, expressing concern, condemning President Trump and his supporters, and posting memes.
On Wednesday, pro-Trump rioters stormed the United States Capitol, interrupting a joint session of Congress in which representatives were gathered to certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory over President
The event played out across America on television screens and
Some influencers asked for people in the area to stay safe
Charli D'Amelio, TikTok's most popular star, wrote on Twitter that "today has been a difficult day for our country," saying that she hoped that "everyone can stay safe and out of any harm." In addition to retweeting threads with information about what was happening in the Capitol, she also tweeted asking people in Washington, DC to stay safe.
—charli d’amelio (@charlidamelio) January 6, 2021
Charli's older sister, Dixie D'Amelio, also retweeted multiple threads about the events at the Capitol and expressed concern for those in the area on Twitter.
Addision Rae Easterling, a TikTok star and social media personality, posted on Twitter asking for people to be careful and later called for unity.
—addison (@whoisaddison) January 7, 2021
Some internet stars condemned President Trump and his supporters
YouTuber and online personality Tyler Oakley posted on Twitter, saying that yesterday's "treasonous chaos" was a "direct result of every trump supporter past & present."
—tyler oakley (@tyleroakley) January 7, 2021
YouTube and TikTok creator Larri Merritt, better known online as Larray, also condemned Trump and his base on Twitter, writing "yeah, f-ck trump & everyone who supports him" and also sharing threads with information about what was happening in the Capitol.
—larri (@larrayxo) January 6, 2021
Others compared police response at the Capitol to responses at Black Lives Matter protestors
19-year-old content creator Sarah Lugor, who has nearly 400,000 followers on Twitter and over 2.5 million on TikTok, compared police response at the Capitol to the police response in Aurora, Colorado in June at a violin vigil for Elijah McClain, who died in 2019 after being put in a chokehold by police. At the vigil, police in riot gear used pepper spray and batons on demonstrators. In another tweet, she remarked on the "lack of rubber bullets, tear gas canisters, riot shields, etc." in a video showing Trump supporters at the Capitol.
—sarah lugor!! (@sarahlugor) January 6, 2021
Other influencers like James Charles echoed the sentiment, calling the
—James Charles (@jamescharles) January 6, 2021
Some famous online personalities posted memes and jokes about the event
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla (and as of today, the richest man on Earth), tweeted memes throughout the event, as he is known to do. One meme that he posted used a domino meme linking Facebook (described in the meme as a "website to rate women on campus") to the events at the Capitol. Other public figures and
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
Musician and online personality Lil Nas X also posted a photo of what appears to be his younger self in a JROTC uniform with the caption "that's enough i'm stepping in." Later, he questioned why Twitter was "always at its funniest when the world is collapsing."
—nope (@LilNasX) January 6, 2021
In the aftermath of Wednesday's events, Democrats have stated their intent to impeach Trump, with Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar being among the first to call for his removal. Other Democratic representatives have called for the invocation of the 25th amendment, which allows for members of the administration to remove the President from office and replace them with the Vice President.
Social media platforms including Facebook and Twitch have taken actions against the President's accounts, with Facebook suspending Trump until the end of his presidency and Twitch disabling his account, banning him from streaming on the platform.
- Expanded Coverage Module: capitol-siege-module