Capitol Riots Quiz: 12 Questions on Jan. 6 Dangerous Coup

We originally published the quiz on Jan. 6, 2022. Questions last updated: Jun. 11, 2022.

Do you know all you should know about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots? Test your knowledge of the history leading to the US Congress breach, the prominent participants in the insurrection, and its repercussions. Take the Jan. 6 Capitol Riots Quiz.

The History of Jan. 6, 2021 Round-Up Quiz

Daily News Quiz: 12 General knowledge questions on the events leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill Riots and their consequences. No time-limit. How smart are you today?

 

1 / 12

1. Right after agreeing to call for white supremacists to lower down violence, what did President Trump say?

Photo: White House / Public domain

That there is violence from both sides.

That most violence comes from the left wing.

That there are fine people on both sides.

That he supports white supremacism.

Trump immediately added that most violence he sees comes from the left wing.

Exactly. Trump immediately added that most violence he sees comes from the left-wing.

2 / 12

2. How do the proud boys, referred to by Donald Trump in the first 2020 presidential debate, describe themselves?

Photo: Anthony Crider / CC BY

White supremacists

White chauvinists

Male chauvinists

Chauvinist pigs

Proud Boys, a far-right group founded in 2016, calls itself a “white chauvinist” organization. Trump told them to “Stand back and stand by” during the 2020 debate. Proud Boys leaders co-conspired with other extremist groups to take over the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Proud Boys Fun (!) Fact

In 2021, Twitter users flooded the #ProudBoys hashtag on social media with images of LGBTQI+ pride, displacing posts made by neo-Nazis and white supremacists using the tag.

3 / 12

3. Who is Gretchen Whitmer?

Photo: Julia Pickett / CC BY-SA

Attorney General of Michigan

Governor of Michigan.

Governor of South Dakota

United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

Six men were charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in reaction to her “uncontrolled power.” Seven others were indicted for allegedly targeting police and seeking a “civil war.” After police foiled the alleged plot to kidnap her, Whitmer said President Trump’s words had been a “rallying cry” for extremists.

Six men were charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in reaction to her “uncontrolled power.” Seven others were indicted for allegedly targeting police and seeking a “civil war.” After police foiled the alleged plot to kidnap her, Whitmer said President Trump’s words had been a “rallying cry” for extremists.

4 / 12

4. According to Trump’s town hall-style meeting on NBC on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, what has the former President heard of QAnon conspiracy theory activists?

Screenshot: NBC News

That they believe the Democratic party is run by Satanists.

That they see him as their savior.

That they fight pedophilia, which he strongly supports.

That they are great.

On the Oct. 15 town hall meeting aired on NBC News, President Trump said adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory were at least “strongly against pedophilia.” He then added he knew nothing more on the subject. QAnon believers are told that the Democratic elite is a pedophilic satanist group and that Trump was their savior. QAnoners prominently took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol Riots.

On the Oct. 15 town hall meeting aired on NBC News, President Trump said adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory were at least “strongly against pedophilia.” He then added he knew nothing more on the subject. QAnon believers are told that the Democratic elite is a pedophilic satanist group and that Trump was their savior. QAnoners prominently took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol Riots.

5 / 12

5. The 2020 US elections had the highest voter turnouts since 1968. Who won the presidency that year?

John F. Kennedy

Lyndon B. Johnson

Richard Nixon

Gerald Ford

In the 2020 US elections, some 60.2% of the eligible voting-age population voted. That’s the highest turnout since 1968 (60%) when Richard Nixon won the presidency – and a record-high number of voters.

In the 2020 US elections, some 60.2% of the eligible voting-age population voted. That’s the highest turnout since 1968 (60%) when Richard Nixon won the presidency – and a record-high number of voters.

6 / 12

6. How many US Presidents before Donald Trump refused to give a concession after losing the elections?

Photo: The White House from Washington, DC / Public domain

None.

1

2

3

Donald Trump never conceded the 2020 elections, making him the first-ever US President to deny the election results. In 2000 Al Gore retracted his first concession only to re-concede later.

Donald Trump never conceded the 2020 elections, making him the first-ever US President to deny the election results. In 2000 Al Gore retracted his first concession only to re-concede later.

7 / 12

7. How long have media outlets been calling the elections in the USA?

Since 1848.

Since the invention of radio.

Since the invention of television.

Since 2008.

The Electoral College chooses the president of the U.S, but it takes weeks. News organizations began in the 1800s collecting and adding the vote from each state’s election officials, then announcing the victor based on that vote count. It started in 1848 when The Associated Press declared the election of Zachary Taylor as president.

True. The Electoral College chooses the president of the U.S, but it takes weeks. News organizations began in the 1800s collecting and adding the vote from each state’s election officials, then announcing the victor based on that vote count. It started in 1848 when The Associated Press declared the election of Zachary Taylor as president.

8 / 12

8. What’s the original meaning of the word ‘Capitol’?

Photo: Tyler Merbler, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

One of the seven hills of Rome.

The Hellenic Parliament.

The most important city or town of a country or region.

Big.

The word ‘Capitol’ originates in Latin and refers to Jupiter Optimus Maximus’s Temple on Capitoline Hill, Rome‘s seven hills. Thomas Jefferson insisted on naming the American legislative building ‘Capitol’ rather than ‘Congress House.’

The 2021 Capitol Riots

Rioters supporting former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, occupying parts of the building for several hours. The riots, incited by Trump, disrupted a joint session of Congress to certify Joe Biden’s  2020 election win.

9 / 12

9. How many Republican Senators eventually voted with Trump’s campaign against some of Biden’s electoral certifications?

Photo: Adam Kinzinger/C-SPAN, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

All 51 of them.

45.

7.

None.

Only seven of the 51 Republican Senate members chose to side with the Trump campaign during the Jan. 6, 2021, Electoral certification debate in Congress. Amongst them were Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley.

10 / 12

10. What is sedition?

Photo: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The action of alluring someone.

The administering of a drug to produce a state of calm or sleep.

The crime of betraying one’s country.

A conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state.

According to Oxford Languages, sedition is a conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the state’s authority. The US sedition act defines it as ‘false, scandalous, or malicious writing’ against the government.

Sedition indictments 2022

A federal grand jury on June 6, 2022, charged five members of the Proud Boys with seditious conspiracy for their actions before and during the US Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.

11 / 12

11. She is the woman Republicans removed from the GOP’s conference chair after her continued criticisms of Trump.

Screenshot: The Today Show / NBC

Nancy Pelosi.

Lynne Cheney.

Liz Cheney.

Marjorie Taylor Greene.

US Republicans have voted to oust a top lawmaker, Liz Cheney, from her leadership post as the GOP’s conference chair on May 12, 2021, over her criticism of former President Donald Trump. Cheney is the Vice-Chair of the January 6 committee. Cheney has held the third-ranking position in the House of Representatives since 2019.

Why was Cheney voted out?

Cheney has repeatedly condemned Trump over his unfounded claims the 2020 vote was stolen from him. She was one of 10 members of her party who voted with Democrats to impeach the then-president for incitement of insurrection after the January 6 Capitol Riots. The Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him. In an interview with NBC News shortly after the vote, Cheney called her removal “the opening salvo” in a fight “to bring back our party to substance and principles.”

12 / 12

12. According to US President Joe Biden, who’s “holding a dagger” at the throat of American democracy?

Screenshot: C-Span

Russia.

China.

Donald Trump.

Social media companies.

In a speech to mark the first anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, US President Joe Biden declared Donald Trump was “holding a dagger” at the throat of American democracy. Biden said that Trump “rallied the mob to attack,” then did nothing to stop the ensuing lethal violence. Watch the speech.

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The Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Riots Quiz Questions

• Right after agreeing to call for white supremacists to lower down violence, what did President Trump say?

  Photo: White House / Public domain

  That there is violence from both sides.

  That most violence comes from the left wing.

  That there are fine people on both sides.

  That he supports white supremacism.

  How do the proud boys, referred to by Donald Trump in the first 2020 presidential debate, describe themselves?

  Photo: Anthony Crider / CC BY

  White supremacists

  White chauvinists

  Male chauvinists

  Chauvinist pigs

  Who is Gretchen Whitmer?

  Photo: Julia Pickett / CC BY-SA

  Attorney General of Michigan

  Governor of Michigan.

  Governor of South Dakota

  United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

  According to Trump's town hall-style meeting on NBC on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, what has the former President heard of QAnon conspiracy theory activists?

  Screenshot: NBC News

  That they believe the Democratic party is run by Satanists.

  That they see him as their savior.

  That they fight pedophilia, which he strongly supports.

  That they are great.

  The 2020 US elections had the highest voter turnouts since 1968. Who won the presidency that year?

  John F. Kennedy

  Lyndon B. Johnson

  Richard Nixon

  Gerald Ford

  How many US Presidents before Donald Trump refused to give a concession after losing the elections?

  Photo: The White House from Washington, DC / Public domain

  None.

  1

  2

  3

  How long have media outlets been calling the elections in the USA?

  Since 1848.

  Since the invention of radio.

  Since the invention of television.

  Since 2008.

  What’s the original meaning of the word 'Capitol'?

  Photo: Tyler Merbler, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

  One of the seven hills of Rome.

  The Hellenic Parliament.

  The most important city or town of a country or region.

  Big.

  How many Republican Senators eventually voted with Trump's campaign against some of Biden's electoral certifications?

  Photo: Adam Kinzinger/C-SPAN, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

  All 51 of them.

  45.

  7.

  None.

  What is sedition?

  Photo: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

  The action of alluring someone.

  The administering of a drug to produce a state of calm or sleep.

  The crime of betraying one's country.

  A conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state.

  She is the woman Republicans removed from the GOP's conference chair after her continued criticisms of Trump.

  Screenshot: The Today Show / NBC

  Nancy Pelosi.

  Lynne Cheney.

  Liz Cheney.

  Marjorie Taylor Greene.

  According to US President Joe Biden, who's "holding a dagger" at the throat of American democracy?

  Screenshot: C-Span

  Russia.

  China.

  Donald Trump.

  Social media companies.

More on the history made in Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021

• Chris Wallace faces criticism for letting candidates run wild in first debate (POLITICO)
• 2020 United States presidential election Electoral College count (Wikipedia)
• Trump finally faces reality — amid talk of early ouster (apnews.com)
• Pelosi and Schumer called for Trump’s removal from office for ‘insurrection’ (cnbc.com)
• Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley Aren’t Sorry (Vanity Fair)
• Read Biden’s full speech marking the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack (PBS)
• Leader of Proud Boys and Four Other Members Indicted in Federal Court For Seditious Conspiracy and Other Offenses Related to US Capitol Breach (Department of Justice)
• Liz Cheney said Trump had a ‘seven-part plan’ to overturn the election. Here’s what she meant (CNN)

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