Visceral violence at the Capitol

The images of violence in the U.S. Capitol were brutal, at times hard to watch. The anger on the faces of the attackers depicted on the screens in the U.S. Senate was raw, the fear palpable among those they were seeking to harm and those standing in their way. Even people who thought they knew what happened on Jan. 6, the day a mob egged on by then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol in support of his false claim of a stolen election, were shaken by videos seen for the first time and audio recordings never publicly broadcast until the opening days of the second impeachment trial of Trump.

The visual and aural evidence stitched together by impeachment managers from the Democratic-controlled House Wednesday and Thursday added new layers of understanding of what happened when, and of Trump’s role in fomenting it. They were addressing two audiences — the 100 senators who sit in judgment of Trump, and the greater public watching at home who ultimately will decide Trump’s legacy. Whatever the verdict in the Senate, constructing the historical record of this inglorious insurrection might be the managers’ most important task.

Their argument has been compelling. Trump’s defense team still must be heard, but his lawyers will have the significant task of countering the House managers’ visceral presentation. Still, conviction seems unlikely, given that many Republicans refuse to, or are afraid of, bucking Trump.

The managers, who rested their case Thursday, laid out a meticulous timetable. They showed how Trump spent months cultivating extremist groups, embracing violence, and sowing seeds that the election would be rigged. After Election Day, he then declared it stolen, pressured officials in numerous states to overturn results, told his followers to fight the outcome and come to Washington on Jan. 6 for a "wild" time, and finally, to march to the Capitol where Congress was verifying Electoral College votes.

The managers showed that Trump ignored his duty to call off the mob, even as Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers were in danger as they were rushed away from the mob, even as GOP allies were begging him to send the attackers home. The managers used the words of the rioters themselves who said they were following Trump’s orders. They also proved that he expressed no remorse for his actions, showed the many Republican leaders who held him responsible for what happened, cited the injuries the attackers inflicted on police, and warned that the propensity for explosive violence Trump unleashed still remains.

There was much to learn from what was seen on those screens. Perhaps most poignantly, we understood that as the hordes marauded through the iconic symbol of our nation, the fragility of the Capitol had become a haunting metaphor for the fragility of our democracy. The Senate can vote to shore them up.

— The editorial board