Senate kicks off impeachment 2.0

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National Guardsmen patrolled the tightly secured U.S. Capitol on the first day of former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. Senators began the proceedings by asserting with a 56-44 vote that they had the constitutional power to try a president after he leaves office. Trump faces a single count of incitement of insurrection on Jan. 6, the day a mob made up mostly of his supporters rioted at the Capitol.

What happened on Day One of the trial? House Democrats opened with a pre-produced video interspersing Trump’s remarks at a rally on Jan. 6 in Washington with footage of the riot. Impeachment managers said video provided evidence that the former president aimed a mob at the Capitol and incited insurrection. Trump’s attorneys said Democratic hatred of the former president fueled the impeachment. They called the Jan. 6 riot unconscionable but said Trump’s rhetoric did not incite it.

Dig deeper: Read WORLD’s past coverage of this impeachment trial and the one before it.

Lynde Langdon

Lynde is WORLD’s executive editor for news. She is a graduate of World Journalism Institute, the Missouri School of Journalism, and the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Lynde resides with her family in Wichita, Kan.

@lmlangdon