Freshman Omar El Nesr

 What was your initial reaction to hearing news of the events that transpired at the Capitol building on Wednesday? 

“My initial reaction was one of both: shocked and expectedness. At once, I expected that there would be protests and potentially riots over the election, but I never thought that it would amount to an attack on the nation’s Capitol.”

Would you consider the people who entered the building protestors, rioters or something different? 

“I would consider the people who entered the building terrorists, because even from the federal government’s own definition of terrorism, it is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85). This definition matches the event perfectly.”

How do you feel these actions will affect the future of our country and what steps should be taken next by our lawmakers? 

“I have no idea how these actions will affect the future of the country. I have no idea how the government and lawmakers will respond to this event, and what kinds of laws they would put in place. However, some steps that should be taken by lawmakers, in my opinion, is to prevent someone as influential as the President of the United States to spread false information, such as claiming that there was widespread election fraud or claiming that the election was “stolen” from them.”

Do you believe the 25th Amendment (which states if the President becomes unable to do his job, the Vice President will assume the role of the President) should be exercised in response to the president’s words and actions on the day of the Capitol shutdown?

“I do believe that the 25th Amendment should be exercised, because the current President has failed to adequately carry out his job as the President, encouraging the actions that took place in the Capitol on Wednesday. We see that Congress has already voted to call on Mike Pence to strip Donald Trump of his power, and that if he refuses to do so, the matter will be taken to impeachment. While the President may not be physically unable to do his job, if even Congress has seen that he is unable to do his job to the extent that is necessary and expected of him.”