California Assembly Democrats retweetledi
Five years ago today, our nation and our democracy experienced one of its darkest days. A violent mob incited by President Trump ransacked the Capitol to stop the certification of a free and fair election. Brave police officers were beaten, crushed, bear sprayed, and maced while defending our democracy. The halls of Congress were desecrated, and the certification of the election was delayed.
As tragic as that day was, equally so have been the events that followed. Later that night, with blood still staining the Capitol grounds, many of the President’s allies still voted against certifying the election. And in the past year, the President and his allies in Congress have intensified their effort to obliterate the memory of that day and rewrite history to falsely portray a violent, anti-democratic insurrection as a patriotic expression of love.
The President’s first day back in the Oval Office was punctuated by his decision to pardon or grant clemency to every single insurrectionist who violently attacked the Capitol, including those who beat and gouged police officers. Since then, he has placed fellow election deniers into key administration roles, and his Justice Department has fired or demoted the prosecutors and investigators who were doing their jobs by holding violent attackers accountable.
The insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol were among the most dangerous threats to the rule of law in America since our nation’s founding. And the effort to condone that violence has only magnified the danger. We must never allow the truth of what happened five years ago today to be forgotten or rewritten, and must remain ever vigilant against efforts to undermine the principle at the heart of our democracy — that every vote counts.
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