Light sweet justice cascaded over me when the Jan. 6 House committee found former President Donald J. Trump the “central cause” and instigator of the deadly mob attack on the Capitol.

This was personal for me and hundreds trapped inside the stone wall siege. Suddenly, we saw a surreal gun standoff in the House chamber and fog in the hallowed Rotunda.

Could this be happening here?

Breaking news of the former president’s four criminal referrals ran so deep that I wanted to stand and sing a glorious hallelujah chorus. The most serious is inciting the insurrection.

The resounding message from the House committee rings clear and true across the land. Political violence against the peaceful transfer of power is the worst high crime you can commit in a democracy.

Unforgettable and unforgivable.

To wit, the rule of law prevailed over a demagogue who tried with all his might to undo a free and fair election. Trump “summoned” the armed mob to storm Congress as it gathered to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, as committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, stated. They came in full force.

We all saw the picture show. Now we know the script, thanks to a thousand witness interviews the committee conducted over 18 months.

But I didn’t even let myself hope for or expect four referrals to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. One would have been fine and fitting. But four shows the legislative branch exercised the full reach of its constitutional powers.

Four criminal referrals means American democracy lives to fight another day. One year ends and another begins on a note of hope.

I might add that trauma is often the last thing to leave a body. The sound of the murderous mob breaking glass and howling down the marble halls haunted my dreams for months. Members of Congress say the same.

Some senators wept as they rushed off the floor, single file, down an old staircase. Some House members took off their jackets to rumble.

The ripples of the committee’s report will have wide implications for the Republican party.

There’s reason to believe the committee investigation paints such a gruesome picture of Trump that he’ll never see the light of political day again. He watched the rampage of the Capitol for three hours with relish. Never had his ratings soared so high.

The most serious charge, inciting an insurrection, all but ends Trump’s nasty, brutish and short political career. He has haunted and taunted us long enough. The ball is in the Justice Department’s court, whether to pursue criminal prosecutions.

Whatever happens, the People’s House has spoken.

The price Trump will pay in personal humiliation will be high when his loyal Republican base rebuffs him as the worst Scrooge-like loser ever to come along in American presidential politics.

Just in time for Christmas, this gift from the House: the word that the government is not Trump’s personal property. One man cannot besmirch the parchment of our founders.

Globally, the world was watching closely to see if the “last best hope of earth” had lost or won a war within.

Indelible memories of that day are already healing. It’s amazing what a truthful reckoning can do for the doer and his myriad victims.

Given the gravity of sedition, how lucky was the nation to witness the most flawless teamwork ever on a major congressional committee.

That Jan. 6 select panel is part of outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lasting legacy. She hand-picked each member.

I keep going back to Trump’s black leather gloves that day, as if to hide his fingerprints on the crime scene. He spoke like a true don while Congress was captive inside the Capitol.

Tens of thousands, whipped into a fury, headed toward the alabaster dome a mile away. The mob climbed terrace walls, broke police lines, rushed the marble steps.

The inviting terrace was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect of Central Park, meant to connect the Capitol with “we the people.” What a tragic turn of the screw.

The British redcoats, who burned the Capitol in 1814, had a fair reason: we were two nations at war.

Note to all: not to take precious democracy for granted.

Jamie Stiehm may be reached at JamieStiehm.com. Follow her on Twitter @JamieStiehm.

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