Here's what 'insurrection,' 'coup' and 'sedition' mean

 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/13/politics/insurrection-sedition-coup-january-6/index.html

 Coup

A "coup," shorthand for "coup d'état," is broadly characterized by Merriam-Webster as a "sudden decisive exercise of force in politics," but particularly the "violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group."

 

Some have described the event as a "failed" or "attempted" coup, since apparent efforts to overturn the presidential election have been unsuccessful.

"We must call today's violence what it actually is: a failed attempt at a coup," then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, wrote in a statement earlier this year.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the impeachment hearings against Trump, previously told CNN's Anderson Cooper he thought the events at the Capitol could be categorized as a "failed coup."