January 6 Attack
Floor Speech
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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 God that every Member of this body will stand up and speak out.
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