Trump supporters minding the velvet ropes

This video features in a responsive display in the museum that presents the moments, stories and memes capturing the zeitgeist by going viral on the internet.

For several hours on 6 January 2021, pro-Tromp insurgents occupied and vandalised the US Capitol building to protest his 2020 presidential election defeat. It was the grim climax of Trump’s “Save America” rally, where he incited the mob to “take back our country”. After years of consuming viral misinformation and conspiracy theories, the rioters enthusiastically played out their apocalyptic fantasies, taking pictures and selfies amidst the mayhem as if part of a legitimate sightseeing tour. They even obeyed the velvet guide ropes, despite showing little care for democracy or the five people who died from the event.