The US, a nation divided - Is Jan 6, 2021 a coup or protest?

I WANTED to open this commentary with "As Americans marked the Capitol riot of Jan 6, 2021". But then I reconsidered and decided that to be more accurate I probably should replace "Americans" with "some Americans" or perhaps "half of Americans".

Democrats in Washington did mark the first anniversary of the violent assault on the US Capitol with speeches, moments of silence, candlelight vigils and an impassioned speech delivered by President Joe Biden from the National Statuary Hall where protesters had broken in a year ago and battled with the police as they attacked the seat of American democracy.

With very few exceptions, GOP lawmakers avoided these and other events and refrained from issuing condemnations of the year-old attack. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming was the only Republican congressperson present on the floor of the House of Representatives for a midday moment of silence to commemorate the police officers who died defending the Capitol.