The president-elect has since started describing January 6 as a “day of love,” as he did on the campaign trail.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon: I still have seared in my memory the images of Capitol Police officers and other people being beaten.
It does not erase the trauma experienced by Capitol staff and Capitol Police officers who defended our democracy at great personal risk.
Trump’s lawlessness and thirst for political revenge is why I have repeatedly said he is unfit for office.
Rep. Judy Chu of California: No matter what happens during Trump’s second term, the events of January 6, 2021, will forever be his legacy.
Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont, who was elected to the 118th Congress in 2022, claimed that the day a group of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, greatly influenced and inspired her. S. . Capitol and halted the certification of the 2020 election’s valid results for a short time.
According to Balint, “many of the members who ran in the 118th and 119th Congress understood that we were running towards a house on fire and that being honestly democracy itself.”.
Since January 6, 2021, was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life—she was being sworn in as the first woman to lead the Vermont Senate—Balint said she remembers it clearly. She was informed by her security team when they stopped by her office that the U. S. The video, which showed Capitol being attacked, “shook me to my core,” according to Balint. “.”.
More than 1,500 people were charged with federal crimes as a result of the attack, which the FBI referred to as a domestic terrorist act. It also prompted the Department of Justice’s largest criminal investigation in the nation’s history. The building where lawmakers were actively voting to certify the 2020 election was stormed by rioters armed with pepper spray, baseball bats, knives, hatchets, pepper spray, stun guns, and explosive devices. The Capitol sustained damage worth $2.09 million, 140 law enforcement officers were hurt, and five people lost their lives during or shortly after the riot.
Trump has since pledged to pardon those who were arrested in connection with the uprising, despite calling the Capitol riot a “heinous attack” the day after it occurred. Shortly after he won the 2024 presidential election, Trump was charged with a felony in 2023 for trying to overturn the 2020 election results. The criminal case was later dropped. As he did during the campaign, the president-elect has since begun to refer to January 6 as a “day of love.”.
The nation gets ready to welcome back to the White House the same man who denied losing four years ago and jeopardized the nation’s custom of a peaceful handover of power as Congress votes once more to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election.
Balint remarked, “Every time I hear someone say, ‘Americans don’t care about January 6 anymore — move on,’ it always makes me shudder.”. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going to let that day in our history go unnoticed. “.”.
As it did in 2021 and 2022, the 19th reached out to all of the women in Congress to gather their thoughts on how January 6 still affects them and the nation. In response, one senator and seventeen Democratic congresswomen discussed their ongoing trauma, their worries about the normalization of violence, and their strong sense of obligation to oppose any attempts to whitewash that day.
There is documentation of this. ‘.
What they said about how the dissemination of false information about that day has minimized the violence and the seriousness of what was nearly destroyed is as follows.
Rep. The pictures of Capitol Police officers and other individuals being beaten are still vivid in my mind, says Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon. People died. It’s not as if this was made up. There are videos. Pictures are present. There are assertions. This is documented. Additionally, some people were found guilty by their peers’ juries.
Rep. Deborah Ross from North Carolina: I believe that being brutally honest about what transpired that day is the most crucial thing. Many of us are here to testify, and many of us were present to witness. Donald Trump and his supporters cannot be allowed to disregard what history needs to know. The next generation ought to be aware of how precarious our democracy is and should advance with open minds and a fighting mentality.
Balint: I grew up in a family that taught us to be alert when people begin to undermine rights, challenge conventions, and use others as scapegoats because my grandfather was murdered during the Holocaust. Black is white, up is down, and we are unable to agree on fundamental facts, all of which are signs that our nation is on a very dangerous path.
Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey: I believe that [Trump] will make every effort to ensure that January 6th is remembered as if it were July 4. I believe that he will hold it in the highest regard and do his best to exalt the day. And he will have four years to try to persuade the rest of the nation to start doing the same.
Rep. Maine’s Chellie Pingree: I find it extremely concerning that the incoming president could persuade people that he wasn’t accountable or that none of that mattered. However, it can take us some time to adjust to such significant and complex changes. Perhaps in the future, we will be able to look back and admit that this was a mistake, that we failed to see it, and that it took us some time to realize how serious that movement was.
Rep. As January 6 draws near, it is our collective duty to resist the normalization of political violence and misinformation, said Jill Tokuda of Hawaii. We as Americans have a responsibility to prevent violence of any kind from contaminating our democracy and politics because we cannot forget what transpired that day.
“Very, very disappointed.”. “.”.
The fact that the same man who sparked an uprising could be re-elected four years later has left many lawmakers perplexed about the state of our nation. Many underlined that before the nation can recover and move on, those responsible for organizing, carrying out, or inciting the riot must still be held accountable.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois: No matter how appalled I am that the same president who led a coup against our government and was twice impeached is returning to the White House, rest assured that, in contrast to many Republicans, my Democratic colleagues and I will respect the will of the American people, carry out our constitutional obligations, and contribute to a peaceful transition of power.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut: With Donald Trump taking the presidency again, I feel even more of an obligation to make sure that the outcome of the election does not lessen the seriousness of what transpired that day. The insurgency’s reality remains unchanged, and his reelection does not absolve those who encouraged and took part in it. The trauma endured by Capitol Police officers and staff, who risked their lives to protect our democracy, is not forgotten.
Rep. Wisconsin’s Gwen Moore: Convicted felon and potential autocrat Donald Trump has threatened to imprison journalists and lawmakers and has promised to unleash violent rioters into our neighborhoods. Trump is unfit for office, as I have stated time and time again, because of his lawlessness and desire for political vengeance.
Rep. According to Lois Frankel of Florida, people’s memories are fleeting. When they vote, people are more preoccupied with their personal lives. It’s merely an observation, and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Probably, people were thinking about their food prices, rent, and bank accounts.
Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio: This most recent election taught us a lot. Whether it is true or not, the American public knows what they want to hear.
Rep. Judy Chu of California: The events of January 6, 2021, will always be part of Trump’s legacy, regardless of what transpires during his second term. The Justice Department is still under pressure from him, and he plans to keep doing so. He refused to accept or even acknowledge that the 2020 election was free and fair.
Rep. Trump’s return to the nation’s top office, despite his pivotal role in the uprising, is a shock to anyone who values our democracy, says Massachusetts’ Ayanna Pressley. It does not, however, relieve us of our obligation to seek accountability and keep recounting the events of that day.
Rep. Washington resident Pramila Jayapal: I continue to place the blame on the Senate Republicans who declined to convict him. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I constantly consider that. Our founding fathers, I believe, believed that a dictator might serve as president; this is what the Constitution foresees. It was also assumed, however, that a whole party would not simply join that dictator’s cult and follow him. They believed there would be enough people on both sides of the divide who would be prepared to go to any lengths to protect democracy, but this is obviously not the case.
There is lingering trauma for many of the women.
Jayapal: It will always be a day that is emotionally extremely difficult. Since the trauma is something that none of us will ever forget, I created a gallery group and a very close support group to help members process it.
Rep. Florida resident Frederica Wilson: The thought of January 6, a day that will always be associated with terror, violence, and fear, still makes me shudder. Being a part of it means you will always remember it. America will never understand what we went through. Playing a part in a scary movie and hoping it ends quickly was similar to that.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico: The idea of pardoning and possibly reentering the Capitol for those who disrespected our democracy sickens me. The idea that Capitol Police, who were abused and assaulted by the mob, will have to stand there is heartbreaking to me.
Rep. Californian Sara Jacobs: The anticipation of January 6 has made me extremely anxious. I’m still dealing with the effects of the first one. Loud noises and large crowds bother me. It still makes me very anxious because we haven’t really done the kind of reconciliation, hard work, and accountability work that we need to do as a nation, even though I keep thinking that they have no reason to use violence this time. I am aware that addressing people’s trust and faith in institutions is crucial because political violence only occurs when people don’t believe that the institutional, nonviolent approach to solving problems will have the desired outcome.
Rep. According to Ann McLane Kuster of New Hampshire, one of the “most impactful events” in her life, January 6, left her with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. Among the final five lawmakers to leave the House floor was Kuster. As officers snuck them into an elevator and hurried them through an underground tunnel to safety, she went into a panic, hearing the thundering crowds and pounding on the doors. Afterwards, Kuster watched security footage of insurrectionists entering the same hallway she had just left 30 seconds before, armed with zip ties, bear mace, and backpacks.
“The thought that the five of us would have been abducted, killed, or maimed if the police hadn’t pushed back five seconds here, five seconds there, pushing back on the bicycle racks, pushing back on the people who were crushed in the doors,” Kuster remarked. “It was only a five-vote majority, and America might not have realized that Joe Biden was the legitimately elected president of the United States if we hadn’t been there. “”.
In part because of January 6, Kuster made the decision to retire this year, ahead of Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States. In addition to the ongoing trauma, Kuster reported that she has been receiving increasing numbers of death threats and has observed a noticeable rise in the use of violent language in public discourse.
