Book Review: The January 6th Report

I believe it’s important to stay up to date on major political happenings when possible. However, I’ll be the first to admit that it wasn’t possible for me to devote much attention to the information released about the January 6^th attack as the investigation itself was actually happening. That said, reading the official report on the attack, released last December, seemed to be a reasonable substitute – and even better, it’s available here at Charles City Public Library for checkout as a multi-hundred-page book titled The January 6^th Report.

 

To very briefly summarize the coverage of this book: January 6^th, 2021 was the date the US Congress met to certify the results of the electoral college from the 2020 election that determined whether Donald Trump would have a consecutive second term in office as the 45^th president or whether Joe Biden would succeed him as the 46^th president of the United States. The electoral college results had marked as Biden the winner multiple weeks earlier, but various attempts were made – some of which were legal, some of which were not – to cast doubt on the authenticity of the election and voting process. In a final, last-ditch effort to stop the peaceful transfer of power, many of Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol as Congress met to certify the results in an attack that lasted 187 minutes. 

 

This report seeks to definitively answer many questions both about January 6^th and about the events that led to it, based on more than a year of investigation by a congressional committee. Questions addressed include, but are certainly not limited to: What attempts to overturn the election had taken place before January 6^th? What organizations and individuals were primarily involved in storming the Capitol? What role did posts on social media – or silence on social media – play in the attack? How was the committee for this investigation selected? And last (but likely not least), what are the committee’s recommendations for action? I encourage everyone – especially those who weren’t able to follow the investigation in real time – to read this report to view the details through its eight logically organized chapters. I was surprised how quickly the account moves along despite its thickness; the prefacing executive summary helps guide readers through the majority of the report. What I worried would be a slog was, instead, a little time-consuming but not actually difficult to read.

 

The January 6^th Report is in Charles City Public Library’s physical for all patrons to read. Check it out today by stopping in or calling 641-257-6319.