What Happened on the 6th of January? Investigating the Capitol's Storming

The Capitol was stormed on January 6th, exposing the frail status of American democracy once again. The causes of the violence that erupted in Washington on that fateful day are as varied as they are complicated. A virtual volunteer army of digital sleuths, data nerds, hackers, and investigative journalists raced to record as many social media posts as possible before the evidence of the carnage vanished. The hack could go down as one of the most egregious intelligence, law enforcement, and leadership failures in American history. Despite this, Congress has so far resisted calls for an independent 9/11-style bipartisan commission to investigate the Capitol assault and its national security implications.

New America's Future Frontlines and International Security programs, in collaboration with Princeton University's Bridging Divides Initiative and the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensics Research Lab, will present preliminary findings from their own efforts to connect the dots between domestic extremism, political polarization, and the events of January 6th.