WASHINGTON — Images of mobs raiding the U.S. Capitol will forever mark Jan. 6, 2021, but there are a few other events that happened that very day that would shape the country.
As Congress worked to certify the votes from the 2020 presidential election, supporters of then-President Donald Trump gathered by the thousands in Washington D.C. rallying behind political beliefs and the debunked idea the election had been stolen. In hours, the rally would turn into a riot with people breaking down barriers and scaling the Capitol exterior to force their way inside.
A year later, images of the Capitol breach have largely marked the incident of Jan. 6, but there are a few other noteworthy events that occurred as well.
The votes were saved
A photo of two Senate aids, including an Emory University student, went viral honoring the women who presumably saved the electoral votes.
Later context revealed the photo were taken before the Capitol siege.
Both were taking the votes from the Senate chamber to the House chamber for them to be certified. They returned to the Senate chamber where, about an hour later, they had to shelter-in-place as rioters started to pour in.
Though the Capitol raid interrupted the political process, the votes were finally certified and were protected throughout the chaos. The women were there too.
A world leader was banned from Twitter
One year later, former President Trump is banned from several social media sites, and it started with a Twitter suspension on Jan. 6, 2021.
The social media platform temporarily blocked Trump after he posted a video repeating false claims about election fraud and endearingly acknowledged his supporters who stormed the Capitol. The suspension marked the first time Twitter executed the most extreme measure of its misinformation policy.
Trump often used the platform as a megaphone for his policies and opinions. After Twitter's suspension, other platforms like Facebook followed suit, limiting Trump's access to his supporters.
The former president would put the First Amendment and the power of social media in the spotlight, with federal lawmakers taking a closer look at Facebook's influence.
Twitter's decision to limit accounts of lawmakers would become practice, more recently with Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's personal Twitter account.
This happened during a pandemic
Much was lost on Jan. 6. Five people died and dozens of officers were injured during the siege and it all happened during a global pandemic.
As lawmakers took cover, legal aids, reporters, journalists, and anyone who happened to be in the Capitol also had to shelter in place.
Capitol Police worked to fight off rioters and keep those inside safe. Papers were thrown, offices were broken into and windows were shattered. Everyday items like shoes, pens, masks, hand sanitizer, equipment and even an earring were lost that day.
Yet, Congress went back into the chamber and certified the electoral college votes overnight into Jan. 7. Journalists there were to report on it, interns witnessed it happen and it was said that cleaning staff arrived later to help sanitize parts of the building to keep coronavirus at bay. Through the chaos, people came back to do their jobs despite the health risks and the riots.
A year later, the pandemic persists and some of those lost items have been returned -- including a gold hoop earring.
Vice President Pence makes history
Then-Vice President Mike Pence was in the Senate Chambers on Jan. 6, 2021, overseeing the process to certify the electoral college votes as Senate President.
Video from the Senate floor shows the moment Secret Service officers evacuated the vice president and a minute later, a crowd is heard chanting in the background.
It is one of the only times in history a vice president had to be rushed off the Senate floor during regular legislative procedures and perhaps the only time a VP has needed extra security from a crowd trying to break into the chambers.
Pence reportedly received death threats, demanding he not certify the electoral college votes and overturn the election. The vice president does not have that authority, nor did Pence try to influence the procedure.
Once the siege was over, Pence delivered an impassioned speech denouncing the pro-Trump rally and the actions that took place.
"You did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins, and this is still the people's House," he said.
Pence did not defend the president's actions that day.
It sparked one of the most public and largest spanning FBI investigations
Apart from the historic protest, Jan. 6 also launched one of the largest, public and widely spanned criminal investigations.
The FBI created a website and tipline in an effort to seek the public's assistance in identifying people who "made unlawful entry into the U.S. Capitol building." The FBI has deemed the events an act of domestic terrorism.
The Department of Justice also launched a Capitol Breach Investigation Resource Page, tracking where each case related to the siege stands.
Law enforcement experts are calling the probe one of the largest, most complex and resource-intensive investigations in the country's history.
As the nation marks a year since the mayhem, more than 725 people have been arrested in connection to Jan. 6 events. At least 22 people with ties to Georgia are among those facing charges.
Heroic actions went viral, made history
A viral video of a lone Black police officer fending off an angry mostly-white mob would lead to a historic honor.
Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman was seen blocking an exit where dozens of protestors entered the doorway. Goodman lead the mob away from the Senate chambers, where other officers were trying to keep lawmakers safe.
Goodman's actions and the bravery of other Capitol officers would lead to one of President Joe Biden's first actions as the new leader of the U.S.
On Aug. 5, the police force and those who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6 received the Congressional Gold Medal — the legislative branch’s highest honor. The distinction has been awarded 173 times in the nation's history.
Goodman was also tapped to escort the first woman vice president later that month during Vice President Kamala Harris's inauguration.