Did The Simpsons predict Capitol riots?

An episode of The Simpsons which showed civil war after the latest US election race between Trump and Biden has led some fans to suggest the cartoon predicted yesterday’s Capitol protest.  

The 31st annual Halloween ‘Treehouse of Horror’ special of the much-loved show took a look at the 2020 process which bore striking similarities to events in Washington DC, Metro reports. 

In the episode, which aired on November 1, 2020, a startling scene showed fires burning across the fictional town of Springfield, alongside upturned cars and smashed windows on Inauguration Day after Homer Simpson failed to vote. 

Some people have suggested the show foreshadowed the actions of Trump supporters who invaded the Capitol building to protest his election defeat, forcing lawmakers to flee to safety and resulting in four people losing their lives.

The 2020 Halloween episode of The Simpsons looked at the latest presidential race between Trump and Biden, predicting civil unrest after the result

In the episode, Homer forgets to vote and his vote turns out to be the decider, and due to his not being cast, chaos descends

The program begins with characters queuing outside a voting station at the local school beside a sign which reads ‘Democracy ends in 08.38’ as Homer remembers it is election day. 

As he gets to the voting booth, his daughter Lisa asks ‘How could you forget everything that happened in the last four years’ as a long list of Trump’s actions as President roll on screen.

Viewers soon realize Homer dreamt the whole thing and never voted to which he says: ‘Hey, how bad could it be?’

It switches to a clip titled ‘January 20, 2021’ – Inauguration Day – which sees him sitting on the roof his home wearing armor made of saucepans and kitchen pots as the town of Springfield burns around him in an apocalyptic scene.   

The episode reveals the fallout of Homer’s missed vote, which is the decider of the election.  

Supporters of US President Donald J. Trump stand by the door to the Senate chambers after they breached the US Capitol security yesterday

Pro-Trump protesters storm into the U.S. Capitol during clashes with police yesterday 

Fans of the show were quick to notice similarities between the episode which aired in November last year and events which took place at the Capitol yesterday

Fans took to Twitter to share their shock at the similarities between yesterday’s events and those shown in the Halloween episode, with one person stating: ‘The Simpsons are never wrong.’

Someone else wrote: ‘After today, I’m starting to believe the Simpsons’ prediction’. 

Another said: ‘No way did The Simpsons predict the civil war.’

The show has seen several instances in which the episodes have correctly predicted future events. 

The show has accurately predicted events several years before they occur before, including Trump’s presidency and the coronavirus pandemic, leading many people to see similarities in the Halloween episode

Another Treehouse of Horror episode, aired in 1996, predicted people who were outraged about an amendment which banned flag burning descended on the Capitol building with bombs and guns. 

An episode broadcast in 2000 also accurately predicted Trump’s presidency, 17 years before he was inaugurated.

Other fascinating predictions which have became reality include a 1998 episode correctly suggesting Disney would buy 20th Century Fox, which happened in 2017, and a 1993 episode which showed a mysterious virus from Asia invading Springfield, with striking similarities to the coronavirus pandemic.