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As I watched the January 6 attack on the US Capitol last year, I was horrified, just as I know millions of Americans were. I used to live and work blocks away from the Capitol, and I knew people who were in the Capitol that day. And so in some ways, the attack felt very personal to me. I was scared for the security officers attempting to stop the attackers. I was scared for the members of Congress and their staff hiding under tables and behind locked doors. And I was terrified for the future of American democracy.  

For the first time in US history, a small faction of white supremacists launched a violent attack on the seat of the government to stop the peaceful transfer of power. I’ve seen coups happen in Honduras, Sudan, and Myanmar, but I never thought I would see something like that on American soil. It was horrifying and confusing all at once. Watching the Capitol attack unfold, I remember thinking, "What if the insurrectionists were successful in blocking the peaceful transition of power?" Were we about to become a fascist country with an unelected government, just like that? 

The insurrectionists killed five members of law enforcement and injured more than 150 officers. Shots were fired at the doorway to the House of Representatives. If not for the selfless bravery of Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman and other fast-acting people throughout the Capitol that day, the insurrectionists would have taken hostages and potentially murdered elected leaders—as they stated they planned to do. And perhaps the most outrageous part of the January 6 tragedy is that the Capitol insurrectionists were instigated by none other than then-president Donald Trump, who could have called off the attackers but refused to do so.  

Since last year’s attack on the Capitol, many Republican officials have vocally supported this extremist faction. Many Republican elected representatives have refused to support attempts at holding anyone accountable for the attack or even support an investigation into how the attack came to be. Fewer than 10 Senate Republicans voted to create a nonpartisan independent investigation into what happened that day. 

Make no mistake: January 6 was a planned attack. It was part of a larger coup attempt to steal the election and install a government against the will of the people. Donald Trump and then–White House staff were the prime movers of the attempted coup, but some members of Congress and state lawmakers were also involved. Republican members of Congress gave tours of the Capitol to some attackers in the days leading up to January 6. Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, promised that the National Guard would protect Trump supporters. Trump and White House staff even discussed the possibility of declaring martial law or using an executive order to seize ballots from local officials. There were White House conversations focused on encouraging Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the vote certification and hand a second term to Trump. 

Thankfully, those plans failed. But on January 6, we came closer than ever before to ending our nation’s centuries-long experiment with democracy. And the threats to American democracy didn’t end when Trump left the White House. Many people believe the attempted coup was just a dress rehearsal for future attempts to warp democracy. The same people who planned the insurrection have shifted their tactics to rig elections at the state and local levels. 

That’s why it’s imperative we all take January 6 as a reality check—and take action to prevent anything like that from happening again. Nothing less than the future of American self-government is at stake. 

Many people who support Trump’s “Big Lie” about the 2020 election are now changing the laws in state and local governments around the country to make it harder for people of color, young people, and low-income people to vote—and also make it easier for partisan politicians to overturn election results and intimidate voters and election workers. Republican-dominated state legislatures are drawing new congressional district maps that will lock their party into power for at least the next decade through partisan gerrymandering. And far too many Republicans continue to promote the Big Lie and to spread disinformation that sows distrust in our very electoral system. These efforts to short-circuit democracy aren’t a secret. They are happening out in the open. If they can’t rig the election through changing laws, blocking and harassing voters and election officials, it may not be out of the question for them to stage another violent insurrection. 

But there is time to stop this nightmare scenario from happening. We can stop the slide toward minority rule. We can give the United States a chance to keep pursuing the hope our country was founded on—the pursuit of a democracy that is truly of, by, and for the people. And we can ensure an inclusive, equitable, and fair government in which our politicians are accountable to the people, not corporations and the wealthy elite.  

We must remember the people who sacrificed their lives to protect the people's House. And we must simultaneously name those who are responsible for the insurrection so that we hold them accountable, so that we learn the depth and breadth of who was involved in the failed coup. On January 6, we learned that what we have, while not perfect, is quite fragile.  

Our best chance to protect and strengthen American democracy currently rests in the hands of this Congress. Multiple pro-democracy bills have been stalled by Senate Republicans for months, including the Freedom to Vote Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the Protecting American Democracy Act. These three proposed federal laws will pre-empt the bad state bills that could otherwise keep millions of people from voting in upcoming elections. The pro-democracy bills still awaiting Senate action will put in place more checks and balances to prevent a coup attempt similar to what Trump led in 2020 and stop efforts by state Republicans to take control of administering elections and counting the votes.  

These bills will fundamentally improve how our government and country function. We will have more free and fair elections and a better chance to elect politicians accountable to us. This fight is about ensuring we maintain our most sacred right as a democracy: the principle of one person, one vote.