Several of the key facts of the Jan. 6 insurrection are indisputable. And yet millions on the right do dispute them. Here's a look at how that happened.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

People stood outside the U.S. Capitol last evening, where it was a good deal more peaceful than it had been a year ago.

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UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) I woke up this morning with a mind and it was...

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Stayed on freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) Hallelujah.

INSKEEP: Hundreds gathered to chant and sing and advocate for new federal voting rules. A few miles away from the Capitol, people were also singing.

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UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) God bless America, land that I...

INSKEEP: But they were singing in a different cause. About 20 supporters of those who stormed the Capitol one year ago gathered outside the D.C. jail, where some of those charged are being held. They called the attackers patriots, an idea that President Biden rejected when he spoke at the Capitol yesterday.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Those who stormed this Capitol and those who instigated and incited and those who called on them to do so held a dagger at the throat of America and American democracy.

INSKEEP: NPR's senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro took it all in yesterday, and he's with us once again this morning. Domenico, good morning.

DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: What stood out to you?

MONTANARO: Well, look; it was a forceful, direct speech that President Biden gave, blasting Trump for his role in inspiring the January 6 attack. You know, it really was, you know, in my view, one of Biden's most important speeches of his presidency so far, really allowed him, politically, to hit something of a reset button, you know, really reminding people who voted for him of one of the big reasons that they did so - to beat Trump, you know. And Trump is still - you know, has a very strong grip on the Republican Party. He's the top threat for 2024 for Republicans, and he's only strengthened his power among the GOP base, even after the insurrection.

INSKEEP: You know, I'm remembering after 9/11, members of Congress, most of them, stood on the steps of the Capitol and sang together, Republicans and Democrats. I think they may have sung "God Bless America" standing there. But at the events yesterday, there was one party primarily, almost no Republicans. Why was that?

MONTANARO: You know, it took me back to that same scene as well. I remembered that, too. And you know, it was striking that, really, throughout the day, the only Republicans who we saw were Congresswoman Liz Cheney and her father, the former vice president, Dick Cheney, who aren't exactly liberals. But there were really no other Republicans there at all. The House was out yesterday. Some Republican senators were at the funeral for former Senator Johnny Isakson. But watching that vigil last night, it was really striking to see the absence of so many Republicans, even after so many of them were targeted on January 6 as well. I mean, imagine what a powerful symbol of the resiliency of democracy it could have been - it would have been to have all 535 members of Congress there on the steps like after 9/11. Instead, really a visual reminder of how democracy, in some respects, is fraying in this country and notably, how most Republicans have taken the bait of Trump's narrative.

INSKEEP: Well, we have the evidence of what Republicans know and believe because so many lawmakers and Fox News personalities and others on the day of January 6 appealed directly to then-President Trump to call it off. We know what they know. What do they say?

MONTANARO: Well, they really just look at the - at Democrats, say that they've made this partisan, and they want them to focus more on security at the Capitol.

INSKEEP: NPR's Domenico Montanaro, thanks so much.

MONTANARO: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.