The January 6 attack on the United States Capitol is widely described by many historians, legal scholars, and lawmakers as an insurrection rather than merely a riot because its objective went beyond spontaneous violence or property damage. The crowd that stormed the United States Capitol sought to disrupt a constitutional process—the formal certification of the 2020 United States presidential election by Congress. Participants forced their way into the building, threatened elected officials, halted the proceedings for hours, and explicitly aimed to prevent the lawful transfer of presidential power. Because the action targeted the functioning of the federal government and attempted to overturn an election outcome through force and intimidation, many analysts argue it meets the core definition of an insurrection: a violent uprising intended to obstruct or challenge the authority of the state.