Washington — President Biden marked one year since the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol with a fiery speech at the site of the insurrection, rebuking the violence and former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overthrow the 2020 election that made Mr. Biden president.
“We will make sure the will of the people is heard,” Mr. Biden said in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. “That the battle prevails, not violence. That the authority of this nation will always be peacefully transferred. I believe the power of the presidency is to unite this nation, to lift us up, not tear us apart.”
Mr. Biden warned that democracy is at risk, asking, “Are we going to be a nation that lives by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies?”
Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking earlier, said the assault reflected the “fragility of democracy.”
Several events are being held at the Capitol throughout the day to mark the January 6 anniversary, many of which will be live-streamed.
“These events are intended as an observance of reflection, remembrance and recommitment, in a spirit of unity, patriotism and prayerfulness,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to her Democratic colleagues.
A House pro forma session will be held on the floor at noon, with prayer, a statement from the chair and a moment of silence. At 1 p.m. ET, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden will moderate a conversation between historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham about the events of January 6.
At 2:30 p.m. ET, members of Congress will reflect on January 6, presided over by Representative Jason Crow. A prayer vigil will be held at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Five people died as a result of the violence on January 6, and Trump was impeached on a charge of inciting the violence. He was later acquitted by the Senate. The House of Representatives has set up a select committee to investigate the origins of the attack.
In a letter to his Democratic colleagues this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote that January 6 participants were “fueled by conspiracy and the ravings of a vengeful former president” and “they sought to destroy our Republic.”
Schumer continued that Senate Democrats “will make clear that what happened on January 6th and the one-sided, partisan actions being taken by Republican-led state legislatures across the country are directly linked, and we can and must take strong action to stop this antidemocratic march.” He called for the Senate to change its rules around debate and announced the Senate will debate and vote before Martin Luther King Jr. Day on changing the rules if the GOP blocks voting rights legislation.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy wrote in a letter to Republican colleagues that the “actions of that day were lawless and as wrong as wrong can be.” But he continued that Democrats are “using it as a partisan political weapon to further divide our country.”
Paramount+ is now streaming “Indivisible — Healing Hate,” a gripping six-part documentary narrated by Mandy Patinkin that traces the origins of anti-government extremism and how it built on a deadly series of historical events over decades to culminate in the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Stream it now on Paramount+.
