The shock of the attack on the U.S. Capitol still lingers. On both mainstream and social media, people questioned how something like this could happen in a country that prided itself as being the world's greatest democracy. The surprise also lies in the inability (or unwillingness) of security forces to prevent the walls of the Capitol from being breached.

Today in The Conversation Canada, Jack Rozdilsky at York University questions why people were so surprised. And — more concerningly — why were those responsible for maintaining law and order in Washington surprised too, as evidenced by the absence of a more substantial security presence. Rozdilsky writes that protests at the Capitol have historically been met with more force than was shown this week, including the heavily armed military presence during the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer. "It may have been beyond authorities’ range of imagination that pro-Trump mobs would actually attack the Capitol," he writes. But they did, and Rozdilsky cautions that the threat of possible future insurrections remains because of what this event has communicated.

It's just one of several stories on the Capitol attack. We also look at the influence of QAnon conspiracy theorists, explore the myth of American exceptionalism and whether Trump will face criminal charges once he leaves office. As well, we've included some fresh takes on the attack from our colleagues across the global network of The Conversation.

Come back later in the day to see more about this developing story.

Regards,