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The storming of the Capitol, 2021 -

On January 6, 2021, a large group of protestors (though debate around the use of this word is rampant) supporting Donald Trump began a riot at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. where Congress was assembled to count the electoral votes and formalize Joe Biden's presidential victory.

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The storming of the Capitol, 2021 -

The protest quickly became a riot, or some would even say an act of domestic terrorism, when the protestors breached the police perimeters to storm and occupy the building for several hours. It's the only time in history that the Capitol Building has been taken, and five people died as a result.

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Responses to the attack -

Nationally and internationally, the incident is being called an attack on democracy, one of the fundamental values and sources of pride of the United States. Trump's refusal to concede the election and the storming of the Capitol have seriously damaged the country's reputation as the model for a highly developed democracy.

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Storming of Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace, 2023 -

Hundreds of supporters of Brazil's far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro broke through police barricades, smashed windows, and stormed into Congress, the presidential palace, and the Supreme Court on January 8 2023 to protest against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's inauguration.

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Storming of Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace, 2023 -

The events looked eerily similar to the January 6 US Capitol attack just two years before, which was also stoked by baseless rumors of election fraud, BBC reports. Even the same Trump-supporting figures such as former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and "Stop the Steal" movement leader Ali Alexander encouraged the rioters in Brazil, and Bolsonaro supporters reportedly used the same extremist rhetoric online that drove Washington rioters in 2021. 

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Tiananmen Square protests, 1989 -

The year 1989 was also a historic one in China. An enormous student-led protest took place in Beijing's famous Tiananmen Square. At least one million protestors peacefully occupied the square for seven weeks to demand democracy, free speech, and a free press in China.

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Tiananmen Square protests, 1989 -

The peaceful protest became a massacre when the Chinese government sent tanks into the square to clear the protestors. The ruthless attack resulted in hundreds of people, mostly students, being crushed to death. This image of a lone protestor facing the tanks is now one of the most famous photos in history.

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Black Lives Matter protests, 2020 -

A massive anti-racism protest began in Minneapolis on the May 26, 2020. Protestors were reacting to the murder of an African-American man named George Floyd, who was killed by a white police officer. The officer asphyxiated him while being filmed by onlookers.

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Black Lives Matter protests, 2020 - Protests quickly spread across the country and across the world, with millions of people taking to the streets to speak out against racial injustice and police brutality. The officer in question was charged with second-degree unintentional murder.

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The Women's March on Washington, 2017 -

The Women's March on Washington took place on January 21, 2017, the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. There was widespread outrage at misogynistic and offensive comments Trump had made, in addition to numerous accusations of misconduct by women.

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The Women's March on Washington, 2017 -

Almost half a million people marched on Washington, but there was also an enormous international participation. There were approximately 600 marches organized in over 80 different countries. It's estimated that somewhere between 3.2 and 5.2 million people took part in women's marches around the world that day.

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The Orange Revolution, 2004 -

The Orange Revolution took place in Kiev in 2004 due to an extremely contentious presidential election involving supposed poisoning and voter fraud. Hundreds of thousands of people filled Kiev's main square to protest the election results.

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The Orange Revolution, 2004 -

The protests carried on for 12 days until a revote was called and a new president was elected. Viktor Yushchenko, whose party color is orange, became the President of Ukraine.

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The Orange Revolution, 2004 -

Yushchenko appointed Yulia Tymoshenko as his prime minister. She was the first female prime minister in Ukraine's history.

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Berlin Wall protests, 1989 -

In 1989, public pressure was building in Germany to take down the Berlin Wall and reunite the country. Protests took place all over Germany and it's believed that this was the final straw for the East German government.

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Berlin Wall protests, 1989 -

Just two months later, on November 9, the Berlin Wall finally came down after 28 years. The first step towards German reunification had been taken.

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Civil rights march on Washington, 1963 -

In August 1963, an enormous peaceful protest was organized in the name of racial equality in the US. More than 200,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

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Civil rights march on Washington, 1963 -

It was at this march that Martin Luther King Jr. made his historic "I Have a Dream" speech. It's believed that this event pressured President John F. Kennedy to proceed with the civil rights legislation.

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Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955 -

On December 1, 1955, one of the most revered women in history made a monumental decision. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama bus when ordered to do so by the driver. She was subsequently arrested and fined.

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Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955 -

The local Black community responded to this incident by completely boycotting the buses of Montgomery. This was highly effective considering they made up 75% of the passengers. This led to violent responses from the white community, firebombing of the homes of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., and attacking Black churches.

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Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955 -

One year later, the Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was illegal. It was a turning point in the American civil rights movement.

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The anti-apartheid work stoppage, 1950 -

In 1950, in the early days of apartheid in South Africa, a young Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress party organized an enormous protest against a new law that allowed the government to investigate any political party or organization.

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The anti-apartheid work stoppage, 1950 - The action taken was a widespread work stoppage. On June 26, 1950, hundreds of thousands of South Africans stayed at home and refused to go to work. This method was used as a form of protest several time in the following years. June 26 was celebrated as National Freedom Day until 1994, when the date of the first post-apartheid election took its place.

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Gandhi's Salt March, 1930 -

In an extremely peaceful form of protest, Mahatma Gandhi went on a 240 mile (about 386 km) journey on foot to collect his own salt from the seashore by hand. The journey took 23 days. It was a response to harsh taxation introduced by British colonizers in India.

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Gandhi's Salt March, 1930 - The collection of salt in this manner was illegal and Gandhi was arrested after the march. However, the symbolic protest was critical in gaining international sympathy for the plight of the Indian people under British rule.

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The storming of the Bastille, 1789 -

This one event has come to symbolize the entire French Revolution. On July 14, 1789, a group of Parisian revolutionaries stormed the Bastille, a prison long seen as the symbol of the crown's authority. They took control of the prison and beheaded the governor.

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The storming of the Bastille, 1789 -

This event was a catalyst for the 10-year revolution that took place in France. Bastille day is still celebrated on July 14 every year.

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The Boston Tea Party, 1773 -

The Boston Tea Party was not the pleasant gathering you might imagine from the name. In 1773, more than a hundred men secretly boarded British ships at Boston harbor and dumped 45 tons of tea into the water.

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The Boston Tea Party, 1773 -

This was in protest of harsh new taxes introduced by British colonizers and is considered one of the precursors to the American Revolution.

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The Protestant Reformation, 1517 -

The Protestant Reformation began with one of the most low-key protests in history. In 1517, the German priest Martin Luther nailed his treatise detailing the abuses of the Catholic church to the door of a German church.

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The Protestant Reformation, 1517 -

This simple action was the catalyst for an unprecedented large-scale religious movement that changed history. The Reformationists went to war with the Catholic church and Roman Empire and succeeded in forming a new major Christian religion.

Sources: (Live Science) (History Collection) 

See also: Close calls that could have changed the course of history

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