# The Capitol attack failed when Mike Pence refused to board the train [[2022-05|May 2022]]. The 2021 US Capitol attack was an attempted *coup d'état* that aimed at overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election. As explained by /u/ArrowheadDZ,[^1] the attack was throughly planned for and involved President Trump himself. On December 14, in seven states where Biden won, "alternate slates" of Republican electors cast their electoral votes for Trump and signed false certificates of ascertainment. Beginning late December, false legal theories began to circulate, stating that Vice President Pence had the power to overturn the election. In early January 2021, Trump and his supporters applied increasing pressure on Pence to enforce this alleged power. On January 5, dozens of lawmakers from five key states wrote to Pence to ask him to delay the certification of electors scheduled for the following day, so that they could submit the alternate, fraudulent slates. Finally, on January 6, the mob assault on the Capitol put even more pressure on Pence. Even if Pence did not agree, the other option was to have him evacuated by the Secret Service, so that the Senate could declare him absent and continue with the vote. Were that to happen, the emboldened Republicans in the Senate may have been able to challenge the electoral results of a few states, but the House of Representatives controlled by the Democrats would have opposed the challenge.[^2] Even though the attack had scant legal basis, what really mattered was the perpatrators' belief that it could work. In the end, Pence did stay in the Capitol and, as time passed, it became clearer and clearer that the coup had failed (see [[A chain is only as strong as its weakest link]]). Consequently, Republican conspirators began to flake out. It is striking to observe that their primary concern was not that the attempted insurrection was illegal and morally wrong, but that the chances of success were too low for them to remain on board. --- ## 📚 References - [“Attempts to Overturn the 2020 United States Presidential Election.”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempts_to_overturn_the_2020_United_States_presidential_election) Wikipedia, 18 May 2022. [^1]: ArrowheadDZ. [“It’s interesting where people’s concerns are in their texts…”](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/uboqok/mark_meadows_2319_text_messages_reveal_trumps/i65ebkf/) R/Politics, 25 Apr. 2022. [^2]: [“Analysis | What to Expect When Congress Meets to Confirm Joe Biden’s Win.”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/04/congress-presidential-election-january-6/) Washington Post. <www.washingtonpost.com>. Accessed 19 May 2022.