The violent siege of the U.S. Capitol exposed serious security flaws and the influence of online platforms in organizing protests, offering lessons for law enforcement and future demonstrators. On Jan. 6, supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump besieged Capitol Hill and broke into the Capitol building in a violent confrontation that left four people dead, one a protester shot trying to break through a barricaded door and three others from unspecified "medical emergencies." Thousands of pro-Trump demonstrators had gathered in Washington in the third major preplanned demonstration in as many months to protest the outcome of the presidential election. This round of protests was timed to coincide with congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory — typically, a mere formality, but this year a high-profile political flashpoint — and came as Democrats were officially announced as winners in the two Senate runoff races in Georgia, thereby giving them control of both houses of Congress.
