A deadly riot at the Capitol

+ did yesterday's violence meet definition of a coup? US Edition - Today's top story: 'Once you engage in political violence, it becomes easier to do it again' – an expert on political violence reflects on events at the Capitol [View in browser]( US Edition | 7 January 2021 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair As protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, my first reaction was “I can’t believe this is happening.” Then my journalistic reflexes kicked in and I immediately thought “I need to get in touch with Ore Koren” to help explain what at the time seemed unthinkable, unfathomable and unreal. Koren is an expert at Indiana University in political violence and civil conflict. I conducted an interview with him late yesterday afternoon, and while many things he said stuck with me, the one that haunts me is that “[having a history of political violence is a pretty strong predictor of future violence](.” Read his interview to gain perspective and see the hopeful part of what he said. My hope is that his analysis will help make yesterday’s events a little less unfathomable. Also today: - [Changing meanings of Don’t Tread on Me flag]( - [Why do so few clergy serve in Congress?]( - [Pandemic brings need for ‘crisis standards of care’]( Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Society Protesters forcing their way into the Capitol. Win McNamee/Getty Images News via Getty Images [‘Once you engage in political violence, it becomes easier to do it again’ – an expert on political violence reflects on events at the Capitol]( Naomi Schalit, The Conversation A conflict scholar calls events at the U.S. Capitol 'a messy riot where people lashed out at the heart of American democracy.' Politics/Election '20 - [Was it a coup? No, but siege on US Capitol was the election violence of a fragile democracy]( Clayton Besaw, University of Central Florida; Matthew Frank, University of Denver Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6, disrupting Congress's certification of Joe Biden as president-elect. 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