Not only does all of America know about the riot that attempted to overtake Capitol Hill on January 6th, but the rest of the world too. From gathering in a mass group without masks during a public health crisis, to building gallows and announcing that they wanted Vice President Mike Pence to be executed, these radical Pro-Trump supporters shocked many, and demonstrated despicable violence against the Democracy that they claim they want upheld.

“Conservatives are supposed to be supporting the party of peace, law, and order. This was not demonstrated,” senior Dillon Wagner said. “Real conservatives don’t rush through lines of police officers holding the very flag that shows support for them, and real conservatives don’t break the laws and rules they preach so graciously.”

Many don’t want to accept that those who took part in this violent ordeal could really be as loyal to the country as they portray.

“My initial reaction was shock. I was so surprised and disappointed with what had happened,” senior Kirk Rasmussen said. “Regardless of what those people believed, the actions they took only hurt the narrative they supported and showed their hypocrisy.”

Like many in the nation, almost all at Utica had the same reaction upon hearing the news. 

“All I could feel was…just shock,” sophomore Lana Gamoura said. “I could not believe that the supporters were breaking into the capitol considering that they were all upset and against protesting when people decided to defend something as vital as human rights just last summer.”

Others, though, had an even stronger reaction to the news.

“When I found out what happened, I was infuriated and disgusted. What happened was not right nor patriotic,” senior Annie Droelle said.

While many stand by the opinion that these radical supporters were just a minority of his followers, others feel that by not condemning these groups months ago, President Donald Trump directly influenced and incited the violence that followed after his rally.

“When Trump responded to these white supremacists, he told them that he loved them. The treatment of these terrorists compared to the treatment of the peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters by Trump really showed how racist Trump is and how he incited this violence,” Droelle said. “He incited this violence by telling the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.” By not condemning white supremacy he upholds the social order of white supremacy and racism.”

Though President Trump is in the process of a second impeachment for his influence in inciting the mob, many still do not believe that he had a part in the riot overtaking the Capitol. 

“While I don’t necessarily think President Trump directly incited the violence that happened, since he did say in his speech beforehand he wanted it to be peaceful,” Wagner said. “He obviously has a responsibility to go along with it.”

Regardless of political party, all can agree that justice should be upheld, and that those who committed these crimes should be rightfully punished.