Democrats reminded convention viewers of Donald Trump’s general legal troubles often throughout the four days in Chicago, but few — if any at all — delved into the details of the current cases he’s facing for election interference.
Instead, by the end of the convention, the DNC had made the actual events of Jan. 6, 2021 the main focal point, drawing from a Capitol police officer who was there, the family of another that died in the immediate aftermath and the lawmakers — including Republicans — who investigated Trump’s associations with the mob.
By Harris’ closing remarks Thursday, it was clear Democrats wanted Americans to relive the chaos, violence and tragedies of that day — the starkest reminder the party has of the stakes of the election.
“Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes when he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol,” Harris told supporters in her remarks on the final night of the convention.
Harris went on to describe a body camera video of the Jan. 6th riots. “Extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers,” Harris said, were “set free” by former President Trump.
“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails,” she said.
Many of the guest speakers built the support legs for her message, including Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Andy Kim, Bennie Thompson and Jamie Raskin. Notably, Democrats also gave time to Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of the few Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting an attempted insurrection, and served on the committee that investigated Jan. 6.
“Our democracy was frayed by the events of January 6,” Kinzinger told the crowd during a speech in support of Harris’ campaign. Kinzinger described the day as “the desecration of our sacred tradition of peaceful transition of power,” and pleaded with Republicans that he thought had lost “the soul of the Republican Party.”
“Donald Trump’s deceit and dishonor led to a siege on the United States Capitol,” he said.
Georgia’s former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican, echoed the thought. “My journey started to this podium years ago when I realized Donald Trump was willing to lie, cheat and steal to try to overturn the 2020 election,” he said. “I realized Trump was a direct threat to democracy.”
The convention wasn’t immediately filled with dark imagery from Jan. 6th. Much of the first two days were a slow build into what Democrats ultimately painted as a “threat to democracy.”
Raskin on Tuesday recounted the crowds who chanted “Hang Mike Pence,” but blunted some of the weight with dark-humored jokes about the current Republican vice presidential candidate, J.D. Vance.
“J.D. Vance, do you understand why there was a sudden job opening for running mate on the GOP ticket?” Raskin quipped. “They tried to kill your predecessor!”
More pointed descriptions of Jan. 6 came later. By Wednesday, the tone had firmly changed, and descriptions of the attack on the Capitol were a consistent topic among the DNC speakers.
“Never before had a president of the United States so brazenly assaulted the bedrock of our democracy,” Pelosi said during her speech. “Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6, he did!”
And perhaps the most personal stories came on the final days. Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell told convention viewers that not even his military service had prepared him for the riots that day.
“I had seen violence while serving in Iraq, but nothing, nothing prepared me for January 6,” he said. “President Trump summoned our attackers and sided with them.”
Speakers also included the family of Gonell’s colleague, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died Jan. 7 of natural causes in the line of duty after defending the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“My family knows how dangerous Trump is,” said Craig Sicknick, Brian’s brother. “He incited the crowd while my brother and his fellow officers were putting their lives at risk.”
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John T. Seward is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.