Note: All subjects in this article have requested to remain anonymous.

Following the events of January 6, 2021, Americans have been left wondering about the safety of their own communities. Lancaster County, in particular, saw a number of its citizens in Washington D.C. that day, and it has left some people unsettled. Five members of our county – a farmer, a mom of three young adults, a business owner, a young mother of four, and a retired veteran – have shared their stories of what they witnessed that day, and it appears that the events of January 6 may not be all they have seemed to be. Now we must ask the questions: What really happened that day? And how were those in our own community involved? 

So why did the five citizens go to Washington D.C. in the first place? The farmer shared that he believes the 2020 election votes were tampered with, and he simply wanted to exhibit that concern. The older mom and the retired veteran both shared his concerns; the veteran added that he had stayed up many years before on election night, watching the votes come in, but this time he noticed many irregularities and went to D.C. hoping his questions could be answered. The business owner attended because he was dissatisfied with the way situations in America were being handled. “I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat,” he reported. “I am a seriously concerned conservative American who is weary of both sides failing to represent the American people.” The young mother went to join a prayer group outside the Capitol. Many of them went down with family members or friends. All but the young mother attended President Trump’s rally and then walked over to the Capitol, a 1.3 mile walk from the Ellipse, where the rally was held. 

Those who were at the rally say many of the people there were dressed in red, white, and blue and carried flags and banners. People of all ages, races, and backgrounds were represented. The farmer described the atmosphere of the rally as festive, like any other political rally. There was singing and chanting, according to the older mom. The business owner said everyone was polite and cordial. “There were no rumblings through the crowd of any violence or attack or insurrection,” he stated. “Furthermore, of the million or so people who were there, people did not come armed for violence. Had there been a plan of attack, people would have come prepared. We weren’t there for that.” The farmer adds that it was “totally peaceful, not a hint of violence until we saw tear gas being sprayed up near the Capitol.” 

The farmer, as well as the older mom, both noted early in the day that there were very few police around. The older mom had been in D.C. several months prior for a prayer gathering, and she had seen many more police then, and wondered why there had been  so few at such a large event. The number of people there is unknown, but those at the event think it was thousands to a million or more. The retired veteran could not get close enough to hear the speech, but he found a group watching a livestream and joined them. The business owner, who also was not close enough to hear President Trump’s speech, left early and was one of the first to arrive at the Capitol. He noticed that barriers had already been moved out of the way, and there were very few police in sight. Beginning to sense that something wasn’t right, he backed away to stay off the property that wasn’t supposed to be open.

At the conclusion of President Trump’s speech, many people turned and walked the 1.3 miles to the Capitol. The older mom says she was halfway there when she and her sister and the rest of their group got calls from her mom and nieces, asking what was going on. “We said we were walking and chatting with strangers and having a good time,” she reports. “They [her mother and nieces] said, ‘Well, the news is saying you breached the Capitol.’ We were shocked. It was calm where we were.” Her group got separated as they got closer, but the older mom says when she got close enough, she could see someone waving a flag on top of the building. “We were so confused how this [the breach] could have happened so quickly because the speech had just ended. We also couldn’t understand why people were doing this, because President Trump said, ‘Let’s walk peacefully to the Capitol and find out what’s happening.’… It actually happened before most of us [from the rally] got down there.” The retired veteran also mentioned that “It was at one of the livestreams that I heard President Trump say we should peacefully go to the Capitol building.” 

Standing by the Reflecting Pool, the farmer was unaware of anything being amiss until his sister called and told him what she was hearing. Having heard nothing at the rally to indicate acts of violence at the Capitol, the farmer couldn’t believe his sister until several members of his group, who were closer, told him they saw someone walk inside. 

The young mother was with a prayer group near the Capitol long before anyone from the rally arrived. She watched as people began to arrive, and the few police who were there allowed the crowd to walk up the stairs. “It did not appear to be violent,” she said. “And the police officers did not appear to be concerned. It seemed very peaceful to me. People were waving flags and singing. I didn’t even know anything was going on inside, it was that peaceful.”

After a few more police showed up in riot gear and began shooting rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd, which for the most part was simply trying to figure out what was going on, the veteran and business owner both left. The older mom had left even before that to find the rest of her group. 

Later, the farmer saw video footage of police waving people into the building and holding the doors open for them, allowing them to mill about like tourists. The farmer believes there were some people there, who do not truly care about America, who showed up just to stir up the crowd and incite violence. He concludes, “Never before have I felt so misrepresented, resulting from an event that was clearly a set-up.” The business owner gave a similar statement summarizing his experience: “Nothing about that day made sense unless it was planned by someone other than regular Americans who wanted to be heard.” And the young mother summed up, “I honestly wish every American could have been at the January 6 gathering to see the truth for themselves.” 

While there are still unanswered questions surrounding January 6, 2021, the testimonies of these five Lancaster county residents bring eyewitness accounts to light. What they saw and heard that day brings pieces to the bigger puzzle.