Five years after the U.S. Capitol was raided by right-winged protestors seeking to overturn the 2020 election results, in a clear partisan divide, Democratic lawmakers are still fighting to "shed the truth" about the attack. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader held a special hearing Tuesday, themed "Setting the Record Straight on the Capitol Insurrection." Various lawmakers, members of the Jan. 6 select committee and others with first hand experience on that dreadful day recounted what they saw as pain still lingers.
Speakers testified about multifaceted aspects of the day from the prolonged response for security reinforcement to horror in the gallery and thr attemlted wrasure of it all.
Texas Congresswoman Escobar admitted that talki g about the breach was triggering
Hank Johnson the Georgia Democrat shared that qhen thw violence entered the gallery he , "While in survival mode. I thoight of jumping to the House floor..." he also recalled how he saw rioters getting away from overwhelmed capitol officers.
Pres. Donald Trump pardoned every rioter-- around 1600 of them-- who were jailed for their participation despite the real-time documentation of the incident exposing who was involved in breaching the building. It was the only capitol insurrection in U.S history and 3 people lost their lives that day while countless others grappled with emotional trauma ober the years. Conservatives have downplayed the intent and gravity of the tragedy since it occurred.
Jeffries emphasized the violence — including injuries to more than 140 police officers and deaths connected to the attack — and assweted how the assault threatened the democratix process.
A Republican protester who had been arrested spoke. Pamela Hemphill, AKA the MAGA Grandma denounced the denial. She spoke out against being pardoned for her role in the malaise. She said that she was arrested because what she did was wrong, taking full accountability, adding it was wrong of Pres. Trump to excuse it.
Jeffries criticized Trump and allies for attempting to downplay or reinterpret the events of that day. He reaffirmed that the riot was incited by Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election and that remembering the truth is vital for protecting future elections.
The hearing also focused on ongoing concerns about election integrity, threats to democratic processes, alluded to preaudwntual powers and the impact of pardons making thos who brokw the law feel protwcted by the most powerful man in the country.