[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H6-H11]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JANUARY 6 ATTACK
(Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Clyburn
of South Carolina was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the
minority leader.)
General Leave
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from South Carolina?
There was no objection.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to
co-anchor the CBC Special Order along with my distinguished colleague,
Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland.
For the next 60 minutes, members of the CBC have an opportunity to
speak directly to the American people on the January 6 insurrection
attack, an issue of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus,
the constituents we represent, and all Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay homage to the men and women who 5 years
ago risked their lives protecting the lives of those elected officials
who met in this Hall in fulfillment of their constitutional duties to
peacefully transfer Presidential power after the November 2020
elections.
Mr. Speaker, January 6, 2021, will be forever remembered for the
vicious unprecedented insurrection that took place on that date.
On December 31, 2025, the House Judiciary Committee released the
transcript of its December 17 private 8-hour interview with Special
Counsel Jack Smith, whose investigation into the events of that day led
him to describe January 6 as an event that ``does not happen'' without
President Trump.
Smith testified that Donald Trump is the `` `most culpable and most
responsible person' in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the results
of the 2020 election.'' He continued: ``These crimes were committed for
his benefit. . . . The other co-conspirators were doing this for his
benefit.'' Smith concluded that Trump caused the violence, exploited
it, and refused to stop it.
Mr. Speaker, I was in this Hall on January 6, 2021, and was among
those whisked away to an undisclosed location. My staff huddled behind
barricaded doors that were badly damaged by the mob that was described
by some of my Republican colleagues as ``patriots'' on a tour of the
Capitol.
Our valiant United States Capitol Police and first responders did
everything they could to keep us out of harm's way. Some were beaten,
strangled, and tased. This building, the people's House, was trashed,
damaged, and subjected to despicable acts.
Members of Congress and their staffs feared for their lives. Some of
the insurrectionists waived Confederate battle flags and exhibited Nazi
symbols, and some brave American citizens died. A Republican Senator,
Ron Johnson, said that by and large it was a peaceful protest.
Now, Mr. Speaker, this was not a peaceful protest. It was
unadulterated violence.
The President of the United States and all Members of Congress take
an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and
domestic. That oath is a recognition of the fact that there will be
times throughout history when we must deal with the enemy from within.
On the second day of his Presidency, President Trump granted blanket
pardons and commutations to nearly 1,600 of the rioters who stormed
this Capitol on January 6, 2021. The President decided that these
perpetrators should be pardoned and not pay for their crimes.
By pardoning these individuals, this President has made a mockery of
the pardon process and smeared the oath he took to uphold the
Constitution. These actions demonstrate a blatant disregard for our
democratic principles and the sanctity of the vote.
The great John Lewis once shared his great fear that ``one day we may
wake up and our democracy is gone.'' John and I often spoke of the
delicacy of our democracy and that its future was far from guaranteed.
On January 6, 2021, we came face-to-face with the reality of this
fragility, but our democracy also prevailed. We were not deterred from
doing our constitutional duty and certifying the legitimate results of
the 2020 Presidential election.
Even during this unrelenting campaign to weaken our laws and impede
[[Page H7]]
justice, Members of this body have stood up for our Constitution. The
exceptional work of the bipartisan January 6th Committee, ably chaired
by Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, illuminated for the
American people the severity of the conspiracies behind the January 6
attack. Congress has also passed critical reforms to safeguard the
legal process for future Presidential elections to help ensure this
never happens again.
Earlier today, the leader of our caucus, Hakeem Jeffries, held a
special hearing to shed further light on the ongoing threats to free
and fair elections and the threats to public safety posed by some of
the violent criminals President Trump has let out of prison.
The threat to our democracy that we witnessed 5 years ago has not
lessened, and our obligations to be vigilant in its defense and
steadfast in our pursuit of a more perfect Union is as important as
ever.
The Constitution that binds this country together is a sacred
document that has guided our pursuit of perfection for nearly 250
years. We came close to derailing that pursuit on January 6, 2021.
If we refuse to acknowledge the facts and give due deference to the
violence that took place 5 years ago, we run the risk of abdicating our
responsibility to the American people to safeguard our Nation's core
principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The insurrection of January 6 could very well be the worst domestic
attack on our government since the Civil War, which ended in 1865.
That insurrection incented much of my recently released third book
titled: ``The First Eight,'' which chronicles the trials and
tribulations of the eight African Americans who served in Congress from
my home State of South Carolina before me.
The book also highlights the social and political events that
occurred in the aftermath of the Civil War and calls attention to the
violence and lawlessness that occurred during their service and took
our great Nation into a dark place that lasted for nearly a century.
There are 95 years between number eight in their group and yours
truly, number nine. The book is a cautionary tale that reminds us of
the warning of the Spanish philosopher George Santayana that ``Those
who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.''
I fear that the danger John Lewis fretted about is facing us today.
The aftermath of January 6, 2021, continues to test our ability to
protect our freedom and willingness to continue our trek toward a more
perfect Union.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
{time} 1930
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding. He and I have
known each other for some 60 years. We have served in this body for a
very long time.
I can remember two events. One was on September 11, 2001, and we
were, as the gentleman observed, attacked by an enemy from without.
That was horrific. America lost thousands of lives that day. We stood
on the steps of the United States Senate that evening and sang ``God
Bless America.''
On January 6, I was sitting where the gentleman from South Carolina
now stands. I saw an officer, a detail officer from the Capitol Police,
come in and take Speaker Pelosi from the rostrum. Then, the Capitol
Policeman assigned to my detail, as we call it, came up to me, took me
by the arm, and said: We have to get out of here.
I got to that door. We went through that door, and I said to him:
What has happened?
The stunning words of his reply were: The Capitol has been breached.
Mr. Speaker, I observed, and I don't know whether the cameras are
panning this House, but the other side of the aisle is empty, failing
to recognize one of the most grievous, criminal, treasonous events that
has happened during the 44-plus years that I have been in this House.
It is as if it were not a historic event, where every Member of this
House, 435 of us, ought to be rising today and saying that, America, we
will not survive that kind of conduct; that is not America; and urging
every one of our constituents, as I am going to quote George Washington
in just a minute, to honor democracy in victory and in defeat.
Al Gore lost a Presidential election 5-4. When the Supreme Court said
that the election was over, by a vote of 5-4, Al Gore did what real
patriots do. He said that the Court has declared the election ended,
and because of his love of America and democracy, and because that is
how our system works, as a nation of laws, not of men and women.
Mr. Speaker, my favorite painting in the Capitol hangs in the
rotunda. It was painted by John Trumbull. It depicts George Washington
in the Maryland State Senate Chamber as he resigns his commission as
Commander in Chief of the Continental Army at the end of the
Revolutionary War.
That painting, Mr. Speaker, is a testament to a man who so eagerly
relinquished his power and who only reluctantly reclaimed it when the
American people called him to serve as their first President.
It is a symbol of the peaceful transition of power upon which our
democracy depends.
Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago today, that painting towered over the swarm
of insurrectionists Donald Trump sent to this Capitol. That is why he
was deemed to be, as the whip said, the most culpable of the figures
involved in this insurrection.
What did he say? He told the mob to ``stop the steal'' and to ``fight
like hell.'' Then, he deployed them to the Capitol of the United States
of America, the beacon of democracy, freedom, and liberty for all the
world, and the Capitol was breached.
There, of course, was no steal, and the courts said so in court after
court after court after court. However, unlike Al Gore, President Trump
did not honor the courts. Rather, he deployed an army to come to the
Capitol, breach it, and stop democratic proceedings.
The army he deployed maimed some 140 of our brave U.S. Capitol Police
officers, several of whom lost their lives. They paraded Confederate
and Nazi symbols through these Halls, as the whip observed as well.
They erected gallows. They erected gallows on the Capitol lawn to hang
the Republican Vice President of the United States, and so stated.
Unlike the past few months, the National Guard was nowhere to be
found. Donald Trump had every opportunity to restore order. The
Republican leader of this House, Mr. McCarthy, called the White House
and said: Mr. President, you need to stop this violence.
Nothing happened. Instead, the President played the figurative fiddle
as the Capitol was sieged and our Constitution was challenged.
The same man responsible for the violence that day is now trying to
distort it and erase it. Perhaps, Mr. Speaker, that is why there is no
other Republican on the floor, to try to forget what happened, erase it
from the minds of Americans, and erase it from the history books. It
was just a group of tourists taking an amble through the Capitol.
Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States inexplicably has
described January 6 as ``a day of love.'' Mr. Speaker, I call it what
it was: a day of violence, sedition, and treason.
Trump has called those who stormed the Capitol ``unbelievable
patriots.'' Mr. Speaker, 435 of us ought to be on this floor saying:
No, sir. It was unbelievable violence and sedition.
I call those unbelievable patriots what they are: criminals convicted
of such, insurrectionists, cop killers, cop beaters, and democracy
destroyers.
In one of the first actions in his second term--the whip has
mentioned this, and others will mention it. I use the word
``inexplicable.'' In his first days in office, some 1,600
insurrectionists who stormed this Capitol, who breached this Capitol,
and who tried to stop democracy from working were pardoned by the
President of the United States, Mr. Donald J. Trump.
David Dempsey was sentenced to 20 years. He viciously assaulted and
injured police officers defending the lower west terrace, at the lower
west terrace tunnel, using weapons made from broken furniture, pepper
spray, and flagpoles.
Daniel Joseph Rodriguez was sentenced to 12\1/2\ years after being
found guilty. He was filmed deploying fire extinguishers and dragging
Metropolitan
[[Page H8]]
Police Officer Michael Fanone and repeatedly shocked Fanone in the neck
with a taser. He was pardoned.
The chief of the Capitol Police, when asked about those pardons, said
that it was deeply troubling to the Capitol Police, as well it should
be.
Patrick McCaughey, sentenced to 7\1/2\ years, used a stolen riot
shield to pin Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges to a metal door
frame while another assailant beat Hodges in the face with a stolen
baton. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden described McCaughey as the
poster child of all that was dangerous and appalling about January 6.
Peter Francis Stager, sentenced to 4 years and 4 months, wielded a
flagpole and repeatedly struck a defenseless officer who was lying face
down.
I would ask any member of the President's party or our party to come
to this floor and defend pardoning somebody who perpetrated a crime on
a police officer.
Stewart Rhodes, sentenced to 18 years, said this: ``Patriots,'' using
Donald Trump's word for them, ``it was a long day but a day when
patriots began to stand. Stand now or kneel forever. Honor your oaths.
Remember your legacy.'' That is what he said.
It is pride in assaulting the officers, pride in assaulting
democracy, pride in driving the Congress, thankfully for just hours,
out of this Capitol so they could not proceed in doing their
constitutional duty.
{time} 1945
That pardon list included 600 who were charged with assaulting or
obstructing law enforcement. Mr. Speaker, so much for supporting the
thin blue line, so much for supporting the brave men and women of law
enforcement.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford to forget January 6. We cannot afford
to be absent, Mr. Speaker, to take a walk, to turn our backs on what
happened on January 6. To do so is to risk its repeated actions.
It did not end when a bipartisan majority in this House impeached
Trump the following week, and it still has not ended.
Mr. Speaker, I ask this House now, as I did on January 6, standing
where the gentleman from South Carolina is standing now: Do we have the
courage to stand up to a President who violates our Constitution, our
laws, and our norms?
Will enough of my colleagues across the aisle find that courage? Liz
Cheney found that courage. Liz Cheney--the third-ranking Republican in
the House of Representatives, Liz Cheney, the daughter of Vice
President Cheney--found that courage to recognize that day for the
tragedy it was. I pray others will do the same.
General Washington, whom I mentioned earlier, would do the same. He
would tell them what he told his own officers when he learned they were
conspiring to overthrow the Continental Congress just a few months
before he resigned his commission.
He said this: Express your utmost horror and detestation of the man
who wishes, under any specious pretenses, to overturn the liberties of
our country and who wickedly attempts to open the floodgates of civil
discord and deluge our rising Nation in blood.
That is what happened on January 6. On January 6, we saw the
floodgates of insurrection open. If we forget that, if we gloss over
that fact of history, if we ignore it, if we diminish its venality or
glorify the actions of the mob as Trump does, we risk letting that
dream of liberty for which our Founders pledged their lives, their
fortunes, and their sacred honor be swept away.
Let us remember January 6, lest it be repeated.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland for his
comments and for his friendship for these 36-plus years, 30 years as my
colleague.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms.
Clarke), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, good evening. I am Congresswoman
Yvette D. Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 119th
session of Congress, and proud Representative of New York's Ninth
Congressional District, located in central and southwest Brooklyn.
I thank my colleagues, Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina
and Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, for co-anchoring this
Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour.
I rise tonight with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus
and the House Democratic Caucus to reflect on the solemn anniversary of
the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.
The deadly insurrection of January 6, 2021, was not merely an attack
on a building, but a direct and violent assault on Members of Congress,
law enforcement, staff, and the very foundations of our democracy.
Today, this evening, we honor the extraordinary bravery of the United
States Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers who protected
our democracy and ensured that the attempt to overturn the 2020
election results failed.
Five years later, it is not lost on members of our Caucus that
efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, through false
claims of illegitimate voting, occurred during a year when we saw
historic participation of Black voters. That participation resulted in
Democratic victories up and down the ballot, as well as the election of
the first Black woman Vice President.
Today, we cannot ignore the reality that efforts to disenfranchise
Black communities are still ongoing. Soon, in the Louisiana v. Callais
case, the Supreme Court will decide whether section 2 of the Voting
Rights Act, which outlaws racial discrimination in our electoral
system, still allows Black and minority voters to challenge racially
discriminatory voting maps in court, making clear that the fight to
protect our democracy is far from over.
We will never forget the horrors of January 6, nor will we turn a
blind eye to the efforts that continue to threaten the promise of equal
participation in our democracy and undermine the very foundations on
which this Nation and its governance has been built.
The January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and the occupants of
the Capitol complex is a day that will live in infamy.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments. I
now yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume).
Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for
yielding and the gentleman from Maryland for his co-participation.
Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago at this time, those of us who were in this
Chamber could hear the sound of glass being swept up outside of this
door.
There were persons in here sweeping the room to see if there were any
explosive devices that had been planted after the break-in. Up and down
these halls, you could hear murmurs and questions.
For those of us who were here, this is not a joke. This is not Donald
Trump's history, and it is not his story. It is what actually happened
to our Nation's Capitol. Some of you who were here will remember that
day. I had to run out this door from the second floor, find my way down
to the tunnels underneath the Capitol to walk for a quarter of a mile
to get to an office building where I could be safe, but there were so
many others who were not fortunate to be able to do that. They got
swept up, as the gentleman from South Carolina said, taken away,
whisked away, and stayed in seclusion for hours, sometimes in the same
closets almost, breathing the same air.
The fact that that happened, and the fact that there is no one on the
other side of the aisle, concerns me because it is almost an
acclimation that it is okay. And it is not okay. Five police officers
were murdered that day, 150 or so were taken to the hospital, 18 of
which had to stay there.
These walls, these doors, these hallowed venues that we have walked
in and people have come to and thought of as being a symbol of
democracy were shattered unnecessarily.
It is important to find a way to commemorate this day. It is
important to remind the rest of the country that what Donald Trump said
were visitors visiting the Capitol to go sight-seeing was a lie and
that his pardon of over a thousand individuals later is a shameful,
shameful act.
I pray to God that nothing like this ever happens again. If it does,
I pray to
[[Page H9]]
God that every Member of this body will stand up and speak out.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
I yield to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman).
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I first thank both of our Members
of Congress who are co-leading this very important Special Order hour.
Five years ago, a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to
prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Yet, on the first day of Donald
Trump's second term, he pardoned more than 1,500 criminals involved in
that insurrection carried out in his name.
This is just one action amid a comprehensive campaign to erase the
memory of what happened on that day. It is a slap in the face to law
enforcement who selflessly put their lives at risk to defend all of us.
Some of them lost their lives, like Officer Brian Sicknick, a New
Jersey native, who tragically died following injuries he sustained that
day. Many more are still dealing with trauma. In Brian's honor, I
introduced a resolution condemning those blanket pardons.
We must never forget their sacrifice. We cannot let Donald Trump and
his allies rewrite the history of one of the darkest moments in the
250-year history of this Nation.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks.
Now I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath).
Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I thank both of our leaders this evening,
Representative Hoyer and Representative Clyburn, for making sure that
we never forget.
Mr. Speaker, today we pause on the 5-year anniversary of one of the
darkest days of our democracy. On January 6, rioters stormed the heart
of American Government and sought to overthrow the will of the people
with bats and clubs. Now, the individual responsible for promoting such
baseless allegations once again occupies the highest office in the
land.
I extend profound gratitude for the Capitol Police who stood on the
front lines on that terrible day. I thank my colleagues, our appointed
officials, and every congressional staff member who worked to ensure
that the true will of the American people was done.
I urge every citizen that is watching today to remember that the eyes
of the world have not looked away in the 5 years since. We must work to
ensure that the American ideals of freedom, justice and liberty endure
for generations to come. Never, ever forget.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks. I
will now yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Foushee).
Mrs. FOUSHEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished leaders for this
opportunity.
Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago, our Nation witnessed an unthinkable assault
on American democracy when a violent crowd breached the U.S. Capitol
with one purpose: to overturn a lawful election and hold onto power by
force.
Law enforcement officers stood between that mob and the Constitution.
More than 140 brave officers were injured, and several lost their lives
defending this institution. Their courage deserves not just remembrance
but that we remain vigilant in upholding the rule of law.
The attack on January 6 was the result of a President who chose
division over truth, grievance over governance, and chaos over
accountability. That choice continues to threaten our democracy today,
as Donald Trump practices deliberate deception and escalating
extremism.
Democracy is fragile, and it demands our constant defense. It can
only survive when we act to protect it each and every day.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks. I
now yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey).
Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague from South
Carolina and certainly my distinguished colleague from Maryland for
giving us the opportunity to speak on this issue tonight, the fifth
anniversary of that tragic day of the attack on this Capitol.
I want to focus on two men who were here that day. One was Nathan
Tate. He was a police officer who had grown up in Prince George's
County. He had mixed feelings about what the police do because he had
had some bad experiences in his childhood and in his neighborhood, but
he decided he could make a difference.
He felt called to public service as a police officer. When he went to
work, he joined the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C.,
and was sent to some of the toughest neighborhoods in Washington, where
I had actually been a prosecutor many years before.
{time} 2000
On that tragic day, he was one of the 140 officers who were attacked
and injured. Fortunately, he was not one of the four who died that day.
Another one died the next day. Four officers committed suicide in the
wake of the trauma that they had experienced that day.
Mr. Tate was attacked and temporarily blinded by bear spray. He hit
his head on the scaffold as he was knocked to the ground and lost
consciousness temporarily. He was afraid he wouldn't make it home that
night to see his six children. He didn't know if he was going to make
it.
His attacker was a man named Andrew Taake. Mr. Taake later pled
guilty to attacking officers, including Mr. Tate, with bear spray and a
metal whip.
You heard a moment ago that our President and some of our Republican
colleagues said that this was a tourist event, but I know not many
tourists bring bear spray and whips to the Capitol. The man who
attacked him was also a fugitive from justice at the time he came here.
He had been released on bond from Texas. He was a 32-year-old man, and
he was charged with online solicitation of a minor.
Fortunately, it was an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old
girl, but there was an arrest warrant out for his arrest at the time he
came here and launched that attack.
He ended up pleading guilty and accepting responsibility in front of
the judge, or so he said, because when you plead guilty, the prosecutor
reads a statement of what you have done and you have to swear under
oath that that statement is true.
He did that, but at the same time, he had been bragging about
attacking these officers. Later, he came out and denied responsibility
for what he had done. In fact, he said Officer Tate had attacked him.
The judge in that case was appointed by Donald J. Trump. He heard all
the evidence, he heard the guilty plea and the evidence that both sides
presented, and he sentenced Mr. Taake to 6 years in jail. Donald
Trump's pardon wiped that away with the stroke of a pen.
Mr. Tate, formerly Officer Tate, felt so betrayed by what had
happened--not just that day, not just by the way some Members of
Congress have responded to what happened that day, and not just by the
pardon--that he actually left the police department. He didn't feel he
could be a police officer again. However, he was still committed to
public service that now he is a middle school teacher in Charles
County, Maryland, continuing to do outstanding work.
Actually, The Washington Post article that profiled him today showed
that he talked about this issue today or this week with the children in
his class. He is trying to continue to serve. He is trying to continue
to make a difference. He is trying to make a difference for the next
generation. He had life-altering scars that he suffered that day. Many
of our colleagues had life-altering scars that they suffered that day.
Our Nation suffered life-altering scars that day. We need to commit
today that it will never happen again.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Clyburn for his
leadership.
Mr. Speaker, as one of the Members of the House that was trapped up
in that gallery for hours and hours against my will on January 6, 2021,
I rise this evening to say that the rioters who created the chaos that
day here at the Capitol were un-American. They were violent. They were
unlawful.
I rise to pay tribute to the seven officers who died, the 150 that
were injured, many of whom were hospitalized and some deal with PTSD
until today.
[[Page H10]]
On March 2022, a year following that, this Congress passed a law
directing the Architect of the Capitol to place a permanent memorial to
honor every one of those officers who had violence perpetrated against
them. Mr. Speaker, 5 years after that tragic day, the plaque is here in
the Capitol but the Speaker has not allowed it to be placed.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge Speaker Johnson to not allow his worship
of one man to rewrite the history of that horrible day. Congress must
show respect for those who defended democracy, liberty, and Article I
of the Constitution of the United States right here in the House of
Representatives, defending the vote that occurred in 50 States across
this union. We owe them that memorial.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr.
Magaziner).
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Speaker, do not let anyone rewrite the history of
what happened on January 6, 2021. A mob tried to overturn a free and
fair election and deny the American people of our God-given right to
choose our own leaders. They attacked police officers with pipes,
rocks, and other weapons. It was domestic terrorism. Let's call it what
it is.
They did it because President Trump lied to them and repeatedly said
that he did not lose the election when he, in fact, did. Democracy only
survives when leaders put the will of the people ahead of their own
selfish ambition and when the rule of law is enforced. We thank the
hundreds of brave police officers who put their lives in harm's way to
defend the Capitol and our democracy.
They know what it means to be patriotic Americans and their courage
stands in sharp contrast to many of the Republican Members of this
Congress who are too cowardly to tell the truth about what really
happened on January 6.
We deserve leaders who stand for the Constitution, stand for our
democracy, not only when it is convenient for them but always. We must
defend American democracy.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Subramanyam).
Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, we will never forget that 5 years ago
on this day at this President's urging, violent insurrectionists
stormed the Capitol and attempted to overturn a peaceful transition of
power.
I know that the families of the 140 police officers who were
criminally assaulted will never forget either, especially those lives
who were taken that day and in the days that followed.
Virginians will never forget that day either, including the
Virginians who were in the Capitol complex that day and the family of
Howie Liebengood, a Capitol Police Officer from Virginia, who took his
own life in the aftermath.
Most importantly, the American people will never forget that day or
the 1,500 people who were charged with crimes for what they did, but
then received a pardon from President Trump in one of his first actions
of 2025.
At least 33 of them have been rearrested, charged, or sentenced for
other crimes, including plotting the murder of an FBI agent or child
sexual assaults. We will not forget, and those who try to gloss over
that day or rewrite history will just be on the wrong side of history.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Kennedy).
Mr. KENNEDY of New York. Mr. Speaker, first, I will recognize the CBC
and Chairwoman Clarke and Representatives Clyburn and Hoyer for hosting
this Special Order hour.
Mr. Speaker, five years ago, our Nation watched in horror as the
President of the United States incited a violent attack on this Capitol
to overturn an election that he lost.
At least 140 officers were viciously assaulted and injured, beaten
with flagpoles and fire extinguishers, sprayed with chemicals and
tased, all in defense of our democracy.
In the days and weeks following the attack, we lost five of those
police officers, those brave heroes. We mourn their loss.
The Department of Justice convicted more than 1,000 rioters and had
hundreds of cases pending. With a stroke of a pen on his first day in
office, President Trump pardoned every single one, putting violent
offenders back on our streets.
Since their release, what have some of those pardoned rioters done?
They have been charged with assaulting police officers, making
terrorist threats, and preying on children. That is who this President
set free: violent individuals and child predators.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle ought to recognize the
darkness this day represents for our country. The Republican majority
must restore checks and balances and finally hold this President
accountable before it is too late.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mackenzie). The gentleman from South
Carolina has 8 minutes remaining.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr.
Hoyer).
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I won't take 3 minutes. This Chamber should
be full. I said that earlier because this was not an attack on
Democrats. It is not an attack on Republicans. It was an attack on our
country, on our democracy, and on our Constitution. That is why every
Member of this House ought to be on this floor, urging Americans to do
what democracy demands, solving our differences peacefully through
elections, through debate, through votes on this floor.
We have as a centralized premise that might does not make right. The
people who stormed up Constitution Avenue coming straight from in front
of the White House and a speech by the President of the United States
have said they were doing what they thought the President wanted them
to do. We ask God to bless America. If we do not speak, we ask God to
save America.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his co-anchorship
of these few minutes that we have spent together here on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, you have heard from many of our distinguished colleagues
about the events of January 6, the insurrection that has been misnamed
by many of my colleagues. These issues are of great importance to the
members of the Congressional Black Caucus. In fact, they are of great
importance to our constituents and to all Americans.
When I think about this day, as many of us will be traveling all over
the country--in fact, I am going to be in the hometown of
Representative Kennedy to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day I think
on the 18 of this month--I am thinking tonight about King's letter from
the Birmingham City Jail, which many of us remember was written in
response to a letter that he had received from eight White clergymen
who said to King that they wanted him to leave Birmingham.
They told King that they thought he was a disruptive force, and they
thought that if he were to leave the community, things would be better.
They told King in their letter to him that they did not want him to get
them wrong because they believed in his cause, but they just thought
that his timing was wrong.
{time} 2015
Mr. Speaker, King, in his answer to them, said that time itself is
neutral. The time is never right. Time is never wrong. Time is always
what we make it.
He had a concluding thought there that I have been thinking about all
day. King said that he was coming to the conclusion that the people of
ill will in our society are making a much better use of time than the
people of good will.
Mr. Speaker, I want us to think about that. Those people who came to
this building on January 6, 2021, did not have good will in their
hearts nor on their minds. They were people of ill will, and they made
pretty good use of their time. I will close with this.
King said: ``We are going to be made to repent in this generation not
just for the vitriolic words and deeds of bad people but for the
appalling silence of good people.''
Mr. Speaker, I say to my friends on the other side of the aisle who
have
[[Page H11]]
been silent all day that they may live to regret that silence.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
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