They danced, they waved American flags, they cheered, and not one of them stormed the Capitol.

Kamala Harris collected thousands of her supporters on Tuesday night to note this distinction with her opponent – to remind the rest of the country that only one person of this race attempted an insurrection.

“We know who Donald Trump it is. He is the person who stood in this very place almost four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election that he knew he had lost,” said she to a crowd that spread back to the Washington Monument.

She chose the site of Donald Trump’s greatest crime to deliver that closing message. Here at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021, in the shadow of the White House, Trump urged his followers to act on the lies he’s told, take matters into their own hands and march a little on the Capitol. much on the street.

Four years ago, it would have seemed absurd to imagine that Trump would once again be a breath away from the presidency. But such is the division in the United States that the events of that day have almost faded into memory.

Harris was here to remind people of what happened that day, but also to warn of the threat Trump still poses.

“Americans died in that attack. 140 people were injured. And as Donald Trump sat in the White House watching the violence on television, staff told him the mob wanted to kill their own vice president. Donald Trump responded with two words: “So what?”

“He says one of his highest priorities is to free the violent extremists who attacked these law enforcement officers on January 6th. Donald Trump plans to use the United States military against American citizens who simply disagree with him. The people he calls ‘the enemy in.’ This is not a presidential candidate who is thinking about how to make your life better.”

I was there on January 6 and watched Trump’s dangerous speech. The mood in the crowd was somber and angry. I followed men dressed for war down Constitution Avenue. They were enraged by Trump’s lies about the stolen election. I wrote then that Trump “gave his supporters an outlet for their anger. After telling them that the election was stolen, that their country and their future were being stolen – and they hung on every word – he told them where they could find satisfaction.”

I followed them into the Capitol, saw them beat up police officers and journalists and scream for revolution while posing for pictures.

Tuesday night was different. The crowd was full of students with bright bracelets dancing in sync. They performed on tracks by artists such as Alicia Keys. Many fascists like the one who stormed the Capitol may know how to sing, but they rarely sing.

These two rallies, four years apart, paint a clear picture of America’s division. It’s a divide that goes beyond political disagreement – it’s about truth and lies. On January 6 and for the four years since, Trump has not stopped telling the same lie that prompted the attack, and the spell has never broken for his supporters.

Harris spent much of the campaign focusing on kitchen table issues such as the economy and inflation. But he couldn’t end his campaign without giving his starkest warning and offering a different vision of America.

“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t think people who disagree with me are the enemy,” Harris said. “He wants to put them in jail. I will give them a seat at my table. And I pledge to be a president for all Americans. To always put country before party and before self.”

The events of January 6 were at the forefront of many people’s minds as they waited to hear Harris speak, and that was the point.

“We can’t get away from thinking about it,” said Luther Jett, a retired D.C.-area educator.

“This is where it happened. There is a poetic justice in having a rally here promoting truth, decency and freedom,” he said.

Many of those who came weren’t old enough to vote when Trump summoned his mob four years ago.

Nini Williams, Nina Igual, Kimora Alexander all attend Howard University, the historically black college Harris attended. They see Trump’s return as an existential threat.

“As a black African-American woman, this really affects not only my safety, but my brothers’ safety as well. I want them to have an environment where they can be themselves and not be afraid to be who they are,” says Alexander, 18.

“If things don’t go my way, my life and safety will be in danger for who knows how long. I’m not willing to put myself and the people I love in danger,” says 20-year-old Igual.

Williams, 19, says January 6 was yet another reminder of the racism black people face in society.

“If it had been a bunch of black people storming the Capitol, it would have been completely different,” she says.

If the polls are to be believed, black women like Nini, Nina and Kimora will make the difference next week. And people like Sheila Beaman, a DC resident who wore a T-shirt with the words, “My Black job is voting.”

The attack on the Capitol was personal to her, she said, both as a resident and as a citizen.

“It was unbelievable. I thought I was in a foreign country. A friend called me to tell me and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was horrible,” she says.

But she believes the joy of Harris’ campaign will outweigh Trump’s threats to democracy.

“Seeing all these people here today and knowing that it will get better, yes, indeed, I am overjoyed.”