Political Landscape Report: From Capitol Incident to 2026 Protests
This report synthesizes information concerning significant political events in the United States, spanning the January 6, 2021, Capitol incident, analyses of potential future administrations, and large-scale protests and federal responses observed in January 2026. It combines factual accounts of past events with reports on later demonstrations and governmental actions, as well as earlier projections made regarding a post-2024 presidential term.
The January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol Events
On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Congress convened to certify the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Following a rally, several thousand individuals marched from the White House to the U.S. Capitol. Participants, including members of groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, breached police barricades and entered the Capitol building.
Over 140 police officers were reported injured during the incident, and a gallows was erected outside the Capitol. Then-Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were evacuated from the building.
Prosecutions stemming from the event have resulted in convictions for offenses including seditious conspiracy and other felonies related to efforts to prevent the certification of election results. Investigations, including a House impeachment report, documented actions by then-President Donald Trump in the months preceding January 6, citing efforts to pressure state officials to alter certified election results, particularly in Georgia. These efforts, combined with calls for supporters to gather in Washington, D.C., and march to the Capitol, were cited as factors contributing to the day's events.
The objective of the actions on January 6 was identified as preventing the certification of election results and blocking the transfer of power.
During the incident, Democratic leaders issued appeals for calm and urged then-President Trump to call upon his supporters to disperse. The deployment of the D.C. National Guard was noted to have a roughly 3-hour-19-minute gap before their arrival at the Capitol. Following January 6, leaders emphasized the importance of a functional Republican Party and sought bipartisan cooperation on matters such as foreign policy and national security, including aid packages for Ukraine. Special Counsel Jack Smith reportedly stated to the House Oversight Committee that evidence indicated then-President Trump planned, caused, and exploited the January 6 events, and that these outcomes were foreseeable to him.
Projections Regarding a Post-2024 Administration
Analyses conducted prior to the 2024 election outlined potential actions of a future administration led by Donald Trump, should he be elected. These projections included issuing blanket clemency, including pardons and commutations, for individuals involved in the January 6 events. Investigations related to January 6 were described as potentially being curtailed or neutralized.
Further projected actions within this hypothetical context included the deployment of National Guard troops within American cities, changes in immigration policies, challenges to judicial rulings, and the invocation of the Insurrection Act.
Hypothetical military operations involving Venezuela, leading to the removal of President Nicolás Maduro and the assertion of U.S. control over the country, were also described as aligning with a trajectory of impunity for certain actors and an increase in state-level executive power.
January 2026: Nationwide Protests and Federal Responses
On January 23, 2026, over 100,000 individuals demonstrated in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, despite sub-zero temperatures. The protests were organized as a "Day of Truth and Freedom" against the death of Renée Nicole Good during an interaction with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent and the ongoing federal presence in the city.
Participants included healthcare workers, educators, postal workers, students, and other residents, both immigrant and native-born. Demonstrators carried signs that called for ICE to leave Minnesota, demanded prosecution of the ICE agent involved in Good's death, and denounced the alleged abduction of five-year-old Liam Ramos. Some banners advocated for stopping "American Nazism" and referenced ideals of the American Revolution. Smaller, localized demonstrations also occurred across Minneapolis neighborhoods.
Protests took place in over 100 cities nationwide, including high school student walkouts in Georgia. The concept of a general strike as a demand for mass coordinated action reportedly gained popularity.
President Trump and his administration criticized the protesters, labeling them "insurrectionists" and "terrorists." On January 24, the day after the protests, federal agents reportedly killed a man observing ICE operations in Minneapolis. Vice President JD Vance visited Minneapolis before the demonstration to defend ICE and address concerns about military intervention, as the administration reportedly considered invoking the Insurrection Act.
Up to 1,500 active-duty soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division were reportedly on standby, and ICE raids continued daily. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memo that reportedly asserted powers to override the Fourth Amendment and conduct warrantless home raids.
President Trump was quoted stating in Davos, "Sometimes you need a dictator."
Diverse Responses and Criticisms Regarding 2026 Events
The national AFL-CIO did not publicly support the January 23 action. State and local federations, such as the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, nominally endorsed the protest but insisted workers remain on the job due to "no-strike clauses." Union officials, including AFT President Randi Weingarten, SEIU President April Verrett, and CWA President Claude Cummings Jr., delivered speeches that were described as offering "empty platitudes" without calling for strikes.
The Democratic Party was criticized for reportedly working to contain and divert opposition to President Trump, with reports noting they helped pass appropriations bills, including funding for DHS and ICE, in the week leading up to the protests. Senator Bernie Sanders' warnings about authoritarianism were described as offering no political strategy beyond appeals to courts and preparations for the 2026 election.
The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) viewed the January 23 protests as the beginning of a working-class movement against the Trump administration's policies. It advocated for this movement to develop from below, independent of the Democratic Party or union bureaucracy, through new forms of struggle in workplaces, neighborhoods, and schools.
The SEP proposed building rank-and-file committees in every workplace to coordinate mass action, defend those under attack, and establish a general strike to shut down economic activity nationally. This approach was linked to the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), aiming for a global counteroffensive.
The SEP encouraged workers and young people to form these committees and prepare for a sustained struggle against what it termed the capitalist system, advocating for socialism.