Pro-Trump Capitol siege overshadows America's monumental week
09 January 2021
Data: Newswhip; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios
The attack on the Capitol was by far the most captivating story online in a consequential week, according to exclusive data from NewsWhip.
Why it matters: With control of the Senate in the balance, a nationwide vaccination effort to end the pandemic underway and discussion of $2,000 checks in play, the country's attention was instead dominated by legislative — and then riotous — efforts to subvert democracy.
- Stories about the siege generated 3.5x more interactions (likes, comments, shares) on social media than the Georgia runoffs, which led to Democrats taking control of the Senate.
- Before Wednesday's violence, efforts from Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and other Senate Republicans to stop the certification of Joe Biden as president had become the top story.
- Before that, it was Trump's call pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" that captured the most attention. The Washington Post's report ended up as the most-engaged story overall.
Between the lines: The deaths that resulted from the riots became the central narrative of the events, accounting for three of the week's 10-most engaged stories, per NewsWhip.
- In the aftermath of the riot, top stories about the fallout included tech platforms' bans of Trump accounts, resignations in the Trump administration and calls for the president's removal.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.