Fifth Anniversary of US Capitol Attack Passes with Silence from Republicans, Anger from Democrats
As the fifth anniversary of the US Capitol attack drew to a close, a stark contrast emerged between the reactions of Congressional Republicans and Democrats. The usually contentious lawmakers were eerily silent on the day, while their Democratic counterparts seized the opportunity to condemn President Donald Trump's actions.
Trump, who pardoned nearly all of the approximately 1,500 individuals convicted or charged in connection with the insurrection, made no public comments on the occasion. His top officials instead issued a statement that downplayed his role and accused Democrats of perpetuating "lies" about the events of January 6.
The lack of attention from Republicans was particularly striking given the severity of the attack, which resulted in nine deaths, dozens of injuries, and extensive damage to the Capitol building. The insurrection has been extensively documented by journalists, police, and rioters themselves, with a bipartisan congressional committee concluding that Trump should face charges for his involvement.
Despite the significant evidence against him, Trump's pardons have sparked widespread outrage, including from former US Capitol police officer Winston Pingeon, who testified at an unofficial Democratic-convened hearing on Tuesday. Pingeon described being attacked by rioters who claimed "President Trump sent us," and condemned Trump's pardon as "completely unacceptable."
The occasion also saw a small group of protesters march to the Capitol grounds, some wearing shirts and hats indicating they had received pardons. The protesters were met with resistance from police officers, but eventually allowed to place flowers in honor of Ashli Babbitt, a rioter who was fatally shot by a Capitol police officer during the insurrection.
In an interview, Enrique Tarrio, the former national leader of the far-right Proud Boys group convicted of charges related to the attack and pardoned by Trump, expressed his expectation that such marches would take place every January 6. "I think now people get to see both sides of the coin, and they get to make an informed decision based on that," he said.
As the debate over the Capitol plaque honoring the officers who responded to the attack continues, Democrats are pushing for action to be taken. "They have a legal requirement to put it up, and I call on Speaker Johnson to put it up today," said Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin.
The fifth anniversary of the US Capitol attack serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat posed by far-right extremism and the need for accountability from those who enable and perpetuate violence.
As the fifth anniversary of the US Capitol attack drew to a close, a stark contrast emerged between the reactions of Congressional Republicans and Democrats. The usually contentious lawmakers were eerily silent on the day, while their Democratic counterparts seized the opportunity to condemn President Donald Trump's actions.
Trump, who pardoned nearly all of the approximately 1,500 individuals convicted or charged in connection with the insurrection, made no public comments on the occasion. His top officials instead issued a statement that downplayed his role and accused Democrats of perpetuating "lies" about the events of January 6.
The lack of attention from Republicans was particularly striking given the severity of the attack, which resulted in nine deaths, dozens of injuries, and extensive damage to the Capitol building. The insurrection has been extensively documented by journalists, police, and rioters themselves, with a bipartisan congressional committee concluding that Trump should face charges for his involvement.
Despite the significant evidence against him, Trump's pardons have sparked widespread outrage, including from former US Capitol police officer Winston Pingeon, who testified at an unofficial Democratic-convened hearing on Tuesday. Pingeon described being attacked by rioters who claimed "President Trump sent us," and condemned Trump's pardon as "completely unacceptable."
The occasion also saw a small group of protesters march to the Capitol grounds, some wearing shirts and hats indicating they had received pardons. The protesters were met with resistance from police officers, but eventually allowed to place flowers in honor of Ashli Babbitt, a rioter who was fatally shot by a Capitol police officer during the insurrection.
In an interview, Enrique Tarrio, the former national leader of the far-right Proud Boys group convicted of charges related to the attack and pardoned by Trump, expressed his expectation that such marches would take place every January 6. "I think now people get to see both sides of the coin, and they get to make an informed decision based on that," he said.
As the debate over the Capitol plaque honoring the officers who responded to the attack continues, Democrats are pushing for action to be taken. "They have a legal requirement to put it up, and I call on Speaker Johnson to put it up today," said Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin.
The fifth anniversary of the US Capitol attack serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat posed by far-right extremism and the need for accountability from those who enable and perpetuate violence.
People are really silent about this... like whats going on ? Republicans just chill while millions people died during the attack... and they also pardon ppl who killed ppl 
. It's like they're trying to sweep it under the rug or something. And now with Trump getting all these pardons, it just feels like he's above the law? Like, what even is that? 
. And the fact that there's still this debate over whether or not to put up a plaque honoring the officers who responded to the attack is just... *sigh*. Can't we all just agree on some basic humanity and decency here? 
the silence from Reps is straight up disturbing, especially considerin' all the lives lost during the attack 
meanwhile Dems are callin out Trump for his pardons and makin it clear they won't back down 
its time someone held those in power accountable for their actions, ya know? 
. Those protesters marchin to the Capitol grounds were just expressin their freedom of speech, even if some ppl disagree w/ them 
. Let's not forget that there r still ppl out there who got hurt or lost loved ones during that day 
. We shd be tryna bring people together instead of tearin each other apart 
. I mean, 1,500 people lost their freedom because they were involved in that attack? It just doesn't add up, you know? And the fact that Republicans are just sitting tight while Democrats are calling out Trump for his role in it is really disturbing 
.
. And I think that's what the Democrats are trying to say - that we need to hold Trump accountable for his actions and make sure that we learn from this tragedy.
It's time for some real recognition and respect for those who lost their lives on January 6th.
the silences from republicans are just as shocking as the pardons from trump. how can anyone justify this after what went down? even if we don't agree with the democrats on everything, shouldn't we at least acknowledge what happened & talk about how to prevent it in the future? instead of just marchin' around with flowers for the ppl who died & got hurt 
anyway back to this us capitol attack thing idk why republicans are being so quiet about it like didnt they have anything to say after 5 yrs? 
. Meanwhile, Republicans are over here being eerily silent about one of the most disturbing events in recent US history. No wonder they're trying to whitewash their own complicity - after all, who needs accountability when you've got power and pardons? 
. the fact that he's trying to downplay his role in all of this is just ridiculous 
. we need to make sure that those who enabled and perpetuated violence are held accountable, and trump's pardons are just a huge step backwards in the wrong direction 
.
. it's like, wake up, people! this is serious stuff that can hurt real people 
. It's not like it's a secret or anything 
. And now there are people marching around with shirts saying they got pardons... it's just sad 
. We need to remember what happened and make sure that our leaders are held accountable 
. The facts are pretty clear: far-right extremism is a real problem, and we need to do something about it 
trump just gave pardons to all these people who were involved in the attack and now theres no one saying anything? it seems really weird to me 
... btw, i heard ashli babbitt was fatally shot by a cop during the insurrection. thats so sad 
It's wild that trump is just gonna waltz in with these pardons without so much as a public comment, almost like he thinks we're all just gonna forget about January 6th 
. I'm not saying the democrats are being super reasonable or anything, but at least they're trying to hold trump accountable for his actions (or lack thereof) 
. And that Enrique Tarrio guy's comment? Like, he expects marches to happen every January 6? Give me a break 
, but real, concrete policy changes.
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and make sure that the truth gets out there. I'm all 4 Speaker Johnson puttin up that plaque ASAP! 
, its like some ppl dont care about justice or accountability 
, democrats are fightin for the truth & trying to get congress to put up a plaque honrin officers who responded 2 the attack