Jan 6 – One Year Later
A Call To Lower The Flag At 2:11 p.m. In Memory Of That Historic Day
By Congressman Steny Hoyer
U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
"One year ago today, our nation experienced the worst assault on our Constitution and the continuation of our great experiment in electoral democracy since at least the Civil War. Spurred on by the lies and violent rhetoric of the outgoing president, a dangerous mob of insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the results of our country’s free and fair election. They sought to use violence and terror to overturn the votes of more than 158 million American voters; they threatened to lynch the Vice President of the United States from gallows they had erected on the Capitol lawn; in short, they were the vanguard of an attempt by the former president to remain in power even after losing the election. I will never forget that day: being rushed off the House Floor to a secure location as the mob breached the Capitol and speaking by phone with the staff in my office who had barricaded themselves in a dark room as insurrectionists pounded on the door, and I called the Governor of Maryland to ask for the National Guard to be deployed to restore order when the sitting president refused to send help.
“One year ago this evening, however – thanks to the heroism of the U.S. Capitol Police, the D.C. Metro Police, the National Guard, firefighters, paramedics, and other first responders from across the Washington area, including my own state of Maryland – the insurrection was thwarted and the American people’s votes were affirmed. Thanks to the hard work of those who helped clean and repair the Capitol, the building again gleams as a proud reminder of our liberty. Though scarred by this break in the 232-year tradition in free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, our democracy still stood.
“That is why I am asking all Americans to join me today in lowering the flag to half-staff at 2:11 p.m. – when the U.S. Capitol was first breached – and raising it up again to its full height at 8:06 p.m., the moment that Congress reconvened to continue its work For the People and to affirm that our Constitution and our democracy had survived this assault intact. Gazing at that flag, we bear in our thoughts the many law enforcement officers who were wounded defending our Capitol and our country on January 6 and as we mourn those who lost their lives as a result of the attack, let us pay tribute to them in much the same way we celebrate the courage and patriotism of those who shed their blood or gave their lives in the battles fought under our flag.
“Amid attempts to whitewash and obscure the truth of that day, it is more important than ever that the bipartisan House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the Capitol continue its vital work bringing to light everything that occurred and what precipitated it. I want to thank Chairman Thompson and Vice Chair Cheney and the Democratic and Republican Members of that Committee for their steadfast efforts to bring the truth to the American public and ensure that those responsible for the insurrection are held accountable.
“Remembering the tragic events of January 6 reinforces that the safety and success of our republic ought to be, as Thomas Jefferson said in his unifying inaugural address, ‘the personal concern’ of every citizen and every patriot. Those who attacked the Capitol one year ago were not themselves patriots; instead, they came face to face with true and honest patriots in the men and women who defended that building and those serving inside to ensure that our democracy would not die and that our Constitution would not perish on that day or any day to follow.”
Steny Hoyer (D-District 5) is the Majority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives
