A photo of ballot boxes being secured by women during riots is giving us hope

The United States faced an unprecedented attack from domestic terrorists who struck at heart of the country's democracy by storming Capitol Hill. The far-right terrorists were incited by Donald Trump and other Republicans to march to Capitol Hill. The MAGA extremists stormed the building that housed lawmakers at the time, forcing them to hide. The intention of the terrorists was to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 Presidential elections. This was supposed to be the official confirmation that Biden had secured more than 270 electoral votes to clinch the Presidency. The Electoral College ballot boxes tallying the results were at the Senate Chamber during the insurrection but thanks to the senate pages and chamber assistants, they were secured even as rioters breached the building security, reported Business Insider. 

The images of women carrying the Electoral College ballot boxes out of the chambers have become a symbol of hope. Even while being under attack from MAGA extremists, the Electoral College ballot boxes were secured and it, in many ways, symbolized the balance and checks of American democracy. This was a case of American democracy fighting back against an insurrection. Senate pages are responsible for preparing the chamber for Senate sessions, carrying bills to the desks, and delivering legislative material within the Congressional complex. In many ways, securing the ballot boxes is part of their job but to do it under such duress deserves much praise. The pages are appointed and sponsored by senators. At a time when the President is continuously questioning the legitimacy of the elections, the disappearance of the ballot box would have given further ammunition to far-right conspiracy theorists. There are digital copies of the states' electoral vote counts, but the destruction of the hard copies would have delayed the certification of Joe Biden's win. "If our capable floor staff hadn't grabbed them, they would have been burned by the mob," tweeted Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

Domestic terrorists that included Neo-Nazis had aimed to stop the certification of Trump as President but Congress wasn't having it. After the national guard helped secure the building, Congress immediately convened to confirm Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President. The duo will be sworn into the respective positions on January 21. While many Republicans planned to object to the electoral votes counted in many states, many backed out after the riots.  

The riots left five dead including a policeman who was struck on the head with a fire extinguisher by a MAGA extremist. Considering how trigger-friendly police officers have been, it was a surprise that only one rioter was shot and killed. The systemic racism present in police's approach to White people and African-Americans was laid bare on Wednesday as videos emerged of police officers removing a barricade to usher in the attackers into Capitol Hill. Another video showed a cop waving his hands, encouraging terrorists to enter Capitol Hill, endangering the lives of lawmakers who were certifying the results of the 2020 Presidential elections.

Joe Biden, who was voted into power on the back of support from the African-American community, called out the response for the authorities. “You can’t tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesters yesterday they wouldn’t have been treated very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol,” Biden said in Wilmington, reported MSN News. “We all know that is true. And it is totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. The American people saw it in plain view,” he added.