The congressional endeavor of certifying the Presidential winner in the Electoral College is typically a banal ritual. Only this year – following weeks of mounting emotions, filed lawsuits to overturn the results and insistence from President Trump and his supporters that the election was stolen – it became a jaw-dropping event pockmarked by thousands storming the Capitol building, shots ringing out, tear gas deployed, and lives lost. So what happened? How did should a showdown come to be?