What will happen to Trump in the days he has left?
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(CNN) -
The Capitol building hasn't been seized since the War of 1812, when British soldiers burned down Washington.
On Wednesday it was not the British who attacked the Capitol.
They were the fiercest supporters of President Donald Trump, encouraged by the commander-in-chief himself.
They left a speech at the White House and stormed the headquarters of the United States Congress, where they stopped the counting of the electoral votes that seal the victory of Joe Biden in the 2020 elections and will remove Trump from power.
The legislators were evacuated.
A woman was shot and died.
The rhetorical coup that Trump has fostered on Twitter and in public appearances became very real very quickly.
Rep. Jason Crow, a Democratic Congressman from Colorado who fought as an Army Ranger in Iraq and Afghanistan, described his shock at being trapped in the House chamber as police drew weapons and barricaded people with furniture.
He felt attacked at the center of American democracy.
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We will not be intimidated.
We will not be intimidated.
We will continue to do our job.
The work of the people, "he said.
He promised that lawmakers would finish counting electoral votes on Wednesday or Thursday.
Doc Rivers opens racial debate on riots 0:59
This insurrection will finally be contained.
Republicans already pay a price for their commitment to Trump.
As his supporters entered the chambers of Congress, CNN projected that Democrats will take control of the Senate with Jon Ossoff's victory over David Perdue in the Georgia Senate second round.
George W. Bush, the last previous Republican president, has spoken publicly very few times since he left office.
On Wednesday, he rejected the insurrection in a strong statement, although he did not name Trump.
Other Republicans, including Trump allies like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who had planned to join together to challenge electoral votes, have already joined with Democrats in condemning the violence.
Once the electoral vote count is completed, Biden's victory will be certified.
But don't discount the enormity of this violent political disobedience.
One could compare the treatment of these mostly white rioters carrying Trump flags to that of the rioters who marred the Black Lives Matter protests for racial justice over the summer.
LOOK: Calls are increasing in Congress to remove Trump for impeachment or the 25th Amendment
One might wonder why the National Guard was called in to secure US cities back then, but the Capitol police allowed rioters on Wednesday to enter the US government headquarters and disrupt the ending. legal status of your employer's time in office.
The Pentagon made it clear that it coordinates with local authorities, the Justice Department and Vice President Mike Pence.
The military did not mention Trump, who called in the National Guard last summer to cover him as he went to do a photoshoot at a church in front of the White House.
What is certain is that the anger felt by these seditious rioters will not go away when Trump's defeat becomes a reality.
Which is why the missed hits of the past are worth looking at.
Specifically, as presidential historian Michael Beschloss and former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt noted on Twitter, November 1923 is worth looking at.
Adolf Hitler, inspired by Benito Mussolini's takeover of the government of Rome in 1922, attempted to seize power in Bavaria and failed, an event now known as the Beer Hall Putsch, which was obviously not the end of Hitler.
Although he was convicted of treason and spent a year in jail, his popularity grew as he regrouped and ordered the Nazis to take control of Germany for years to come.
A decade later, in 1933, he used the burning of the Reichstag, the German parliament building, to mobilize public opinion against the Communists, although there is evidence that the fire was actually set by the Nazis.
What will come next?
Wednesday was always going to be the day of Trump's repudiation by Congress.
But his lie about voter fraud came back to haunt him in many ways, all at once.
He only cost Republicans their majority in the Senate.
His feverish harassment of Republican lawmakers reached its limit when some Republican lawmakers chose the truth and Biden over their fictions.
And his effort to find a way around the Constitution finally unleashed a spectacle that alarmed and horrified even those who have worked for him or supported him along the way.
The planes are still landing.
The House and Senate must finalize the ceremonial recount of electoral votes that was interrupted by protesters.
Georgia's twin races will finally be certified, and Raphael Warnock, the former preacher of MLK Jr.'s Ebenezer Baptist Church, will replace Republican Senator Designated Kelly Loeffler, while Jon Ossoff will succeed Senator David Perdue.
Loeffler is a case study on Trump's toxic effect on the Republican Party.
She was selected by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp because, as a relatively moderate and successful businesswoman, she could appeal to the state's suburban women.
But he maintained Trumpism during his time in Washington and ran a campaign of loyalty to his wishes, including his possible objection to his own state's electoral votes when the count continues.
Does not matter.
Many Republicans will eventually join with Democrats in defending the Constitution and respecting voters and completing Biden's election.
Pence, whom Trump has rejected for not being an accessory to his ruse, issued a statement explaining that he would not deny Biden's election.
Those Republicans should be applauded.
But this took too long.
It shouldn't take a real coup attempt by a potential president to get adult legislators to do the right thing.
Could Trump be sanctioned?
1:37
How should Trump pay?
Trump finally released a video statement on Wednesday calling for peace.
But he mixed it up with lies about the election, repeating that it was stolen even though it wasn't.
Later he called the rioters "great patriots."
Twitter, in response, blocked his account on Wednesday and took away his main megaphone for 12 hours.
The company also warned for the first time that it could permanently suspend it.
So what is the responsibility for Trump's insurrection?
Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott said Trump should face the consequences.
“The fabric of our democracy and the principles of our republic are under attack by the president.
It's enough.
President Trump should resign or be removed by his cabinet or by Congress, "he said on Twitter.
LOOK: Tension in Washington after the internal terrorism in the Capitol and the certification of the legitimate victory of Biden: minute by minute
Dismiss him?
Trump could be indicted again, as some argue, including conservative Bill Kristol.
I would exclude him from federal office in the future.
That's an important feature, but it would take time and Trump has two weeks left in office.
Pence, who has the power under the 25th Amendment to impeach Trump as unfit, could instigate a quicker end to Trump's presidency.
Pence would need a majority of Trump's cabinet, hampered by layoffs and resignations, or a majority of a panel empowered by Congress.
Those things can take time.
Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said he never expected to speak seriously about the use of the 25th Amendment on a US president.
"Our country is being held hostage right now by Donald Trump," he said.
"Mitch McConnell and President Pelosi can't even meet on Capitol Hill today ... so I think now we have to get into our constitutional briefcase and find what we can do to control Donald Trump and certainly the 25th Amendment is there."
CNN's Van Jones argued during the riot that these political rioters were committing treason, what we must point out is a crime that can be punishable by death.
Tougher punishments.
Here are the definitions of some possible subversive activities in United States law (or read them yourself here):
Treason: “Whoever, because of his loyalty to the United States, wage war against them or adheres to their enemies, offering them help and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and will suffer death, or will be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than US $ 10,000;
and will be unable to hold any office for the United States.
Rebellion or sedition: «Whoever incites, sets up, aids or participates in a rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or its laws, or who provides aid or consolation, will be fined under this title or imprisoned for no more than ten years , or both;
and he will be unable to hold any position in the United States.
Seditious conspiracy: “If two or more persons in any state or territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, suffocate, or forcibly destroy the United States government, or to wage war against them, or to oppose his authority by force, or by force to prevent, obstruct, or delay the execution of any United States law, or by force to seize, take or possess any United States property against his authority, each of them will be fined under this title or imprisoned for no more than twenty years, or both.
We will not include the whole issue here because it is much longer, but there is also "advocating for the overthrow of the government."
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