Former President Donald Trump was impeached and acquitted for a second time.

On Jan. 13, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for inciting an insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 to disrupt the counting of the electoral votes and overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Trump became the only president to be impeached twice, with the vote being the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history with 10 Republican senators voting alongside Democrats.

Mason McKee ’23 stated, “Trump was a major cause for the riots that killed five on January 6th [by preaching] to his followers that this election was ‘stolen’ and encouraging them to ‘fight.’”

The Article of Impeachment was delivered to the Senate on Jan. 25 with the senators being sworn in as jurors the next day. Sen. Patrick Leahy, the President pro tempore of the Senate, presided over the trial, which began on Feb. 9, with opening arguments.

Between Feb 10. and Feb. 11, the Democratic House impeachment managers exhibited their case as to why Trump incited the insurrection at the Capitol.

New, never-before-seen, visceral videos from inside the Capitol showed how then-Vice President Pence and congressmen and women escaped from the mob, and audios captured the horrendous moments lawmakers and Capitol police lived through.

Social Science teacher Christopher Fern said, “I found the evidence compelling. It further affirmed that the former President was primarily driven by his ego and not the well being of the nation.”

Next, the former president’s attorneys, over the span of one day, even though they had the same allotted time as the House managers, illustrated their reasons why Trump did not incite the insurrection. Their main focus was to show the double standard in regards to fighting for a political cause and how the impeachment. managers manipulated evidence and selectively edited video from the insurrection.

Lucas Tassio ’21 stated, “I think Trump’s lawyers brought up some good points but also did not have enough to help them. President Trump did a lot of things people didn’t like, like starting the riot/siege on the Capitol. I don’t think Trump meant for a riot, but I think he doesn’t choose his words wisely.”

On Feb. 13, both sides delivered closing arguments and the final vote on whether to acquit or convict Trump was held. Seven GOP senators decided to break party ranks and vote to convict, leading to the final vote of 57 to convict and 43 to acquit, falling short of the 67 votes (two-thirds majority) needed to convict.

Aaron Abraham ’22 stated, “I think those seven GOP senators were brave for standing up against Trump and standing up for what they believe in.”