A shameful display of violence in the US

It is a sad day indeed when the world has had to watch the US Capitol being stormed by violent Trump supporters, as lawmakers met to certify the Electoral College votes for the country's 2020 presidential elections. In dramatic scenes, the joint session of Congress had to be stopped midway and lawmakers had to be escorted to safety by the police. Reports have emerged of people drawing their guns, and one person at least has reportedly been shot and four people have reportedly died.

The incendiary rhetoric that has been used by the outgoing president and the deep divisions that have been created over the last four years were bound to spill over at some point. And the shocking scenes that were witnessed during the Congress session was a most shameful display of protesters refusing to respect the democratic process.

There were clearly some enormous failures by the Capitol Police, as it is difficult to imagine how they could have allowed the protesters to storm the Congress building during an ongoing session, which put the lives of lawmakers and other staff at risk. It also exposed the bias of law enforcers who were clearly indulgent towards the protesters, in stark contrast to the heavy handedness of the federal and national guard agents attempting to crush peaceful protesters of the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer. The fact that such violence had taken place in the first place itself is a dark stain on the US and its democracy.

Nevertheless, now that the siege has ended, it is vital for there to be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power. The sitting president must immediately refrain from instigating his supporters from carrying out any further acts of violence and terror. It is tragic that although the courts have dismissed most of the cases filed claiming irregularities in the US elections as having no evidence and most politicians on both sides have agreed that it was a free and fair election, the sitting president continues to spread propaganda to delegitimise it. Wednesday's anarchic situation is a result of that, and has served to deepen the divisions in American society. The crisis the US is currently facing cannot be resolved through violence, but only through peaceful, legal and democratic means.