January 6 Attack
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to co-anchor the CBC Special Order along with my distinguished colleague, Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland.
For the next 60 minutes, members of the CBC have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people on the January 6 insurrection attack, an issue of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, the constituents we represent, and all Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay homage to the men and women who 5 years ago risked their lives protecting the lives of those elected officials who met in this Hall in fulfillment of their constitutional duties to peacefully transfer Presidential power after the November 2020 elections.
Mr. Speaker, January 6, 2021, will be forever remembered for the vicious unprecedented insurrection that took place on that date.
On December 31, 2025, the House Judiciary Committee released the transcript of its December 17 private 8-hour interview with Special Counsel Jack Smith, whose investigation into the events of that day led him to describe January 6 as an event that ``does not happen'' without President Trump.
Smith testified that Donald Trump is the `` `most culpable and most responsible person' in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election.'' He continued: ``These crimes were committed for his benefit. . . . The other co-conspirators were doing this for his benefit.'' Smith concluded that Trump caused the violence, exploited it, and refused to stop it.
Mr. Speaker, I was in this Hall on January 6, 2021, and was among those whisked away to an undisclosed location. My staff huddled behind barricaded doors that were badly damaged by the mob that was described by some of my Republican colleagues as ``patriots'' on a tour of the Capitol.
Our valiant United States Capitol Police and first responders did everything they could to keep us out of harm's way. Some were beaten, strangled, and tased. This building, the people's House, was trashed, damaged, and subjected to despicable acts.
Members of Congress and their staffs feared for their lives. Some of the insurrectionists waived Confederate battle flags and exhibited Nazi symbols, and some brave American citizens died. A Republican Senator, Ron Johnson, said that by and large it was a peaceful protest.
Now, Mr. Speaker, this was not a peaceful protest. It was unadulterated violence.
The President of the United States and all Members of Congress take an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. That oath is a recognition of the fact that there will be times throughout history when we must deal with the enemy from within.
On the second day of his Presidency, President Trump granted blanket pardons and commutations to nearly 1,600 of the rioters who stormed this Capitol on January 6, 2021. The President decided that these perpetrators should be pardoned and not pay for their crimes.
By pardoning these individuals, this President has made a mockery of the pardon process and smeared the oath he took to uphold the Constitution. These actions demonstrate a blatant disregard for our democratic principles and the sanctity of the vote.
The great John Lewis once shared his great fear that ``one day we may wake up and our democracy is gone.'' John and I often spoke of the delicacy of our democracy and that its future was far from guaranteed.
On January 6, 2021, we came face-to-face with the reality of this fragility, but our democracy also prevailed. We were not deterred from doing our constitutional duty and certifying the legitimate results of the 2020 Presidential election.
Even during this unrelenting campaign to weaken our laws and impede justice, Members of this body have stood up for our Constitution. The exceptional work of the bipartisan January 6th Committee, ably chaired by Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, illuminated for the American people the severity of the conspiracies behind the January 6 attack. Congress has also passed critical reforms to safeguard the legal process for future Presidential elections to help ensure this never happens again.
Earlier today, the leader of our caucus, Hakeem Jeffries, held a special hearing to shed further light on the ongoing threats to free and fair elections and the threats to public safety posed by some of the violent criminals President Trump has let out of prison.
The threat to our democracy that we witnessed 5 years ago has not lessened, and our obligations to be vigilant in its defense and steadfast in our pursuit of a more perfect Union is as important as ever.
The Constitution that binds this country together is a sacred document that has guided our pursuit of perfection for nearly 250 years. We came close to derailing that pursuit on January 6, 2021.
If we refuse to acknowledge the facts and give due deference to the violence that took place 5 years ago, we run the risk of abdicating our responsibility to the American people to safeguard our Nation's core principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The insurrection of January 6 could very well be the worst domestic attack on our government since the Civil War, which ended in 1865.
That insurrection incented much of my recently released third book titled: ``The First Eight,'' which chronicles the trials and tribulations of the eight African Americans who served in Congress from my home State of South Carolina before me.
The book also highlights the social and political events that occurred in the aftermath of the Civil War and calls attention to the violence and lawlessness that occurred during their service and took our great Nation into a dark place that lasted for nearly a century.
There are 95 years between number eight in their group and yours truly, number nine. The book is a cautionary tale that reminds us of the warning of the Spanish philosopher George Santayana that ``Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.''
I fear that the danger John Lewis fretted about is facing us today. The aftermath of January 6, 2021, continues to test our ability to protect our freedom and willingness to continue our trek toward a more perfect Union.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland for his comments and for his friendship for these 36-plus years, 30 years as my colleague.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, good evening. I am Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 119th session of Congress, and proud Representative of New York's Ninth Congressional District, located in central and southwest Brooklyn.
I thank my colleagues, Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina and Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, for co-anchoring this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour.
I rise tonight with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus and the House Democratic Caucus to reflect on the solemn anniversary of the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.
The deadly insurrection of January 6, 2021, was not merely an attack on a building, but a direct and violent assault on Members of Congress, law enforcement, staff, and the very foundations of our democracy.
Today, this evening, we honor the extraordinary bravery of the United States Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers who protected our democracy and ensured that the attempt to overturn the 2020 election results failed.
Five years later, it is not lost on members of our Caucus that efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, through false claims of illegitimate voting, occurred during a year when we saw historic participation of Black voters. That participation resulted in Democratic victories up and down the ballot, as well as the election of the first Black woman Vice President.
Today, we cannot ignore the reality that efforts to disenfranchise Black communities are still ongoing. Soon, in the Louisiana v. Callais case, the Supreme Court will decide whether section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which outlaws racial discrimination in our electoral system, still allows Black and minority voters to challenge racially discriminatory voting maps in court, making clear that the fight to protect our democracy is far from over.
We will never forget the horrors of January 6, nor will we turn a blind eye to the efforts that continue to threaten the promise of equal participation in our democracy and undermine the very foundations on which this Nation and its governance has been built.
The January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and the occupants of the Capitol complex is a day that will live in infamy.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments. I now yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Mfume).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
I yield to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman).
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I first thank both of our Members of Congress who are co-leading this very important Special Order hour.
Five years ago, a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Yet, on the first day of Donald Trump's second term, he pardoned more than 1,500 criminals involved in that insurrection carried out in his name.
This is just one action amid a comprehensive campaign to erase the memory of what happened on that day. It is a slap in the face to law enforcement who selflessly put their lives at risk to defend all of us.
Some of them lost their lives, like Officer Brian Sicknick, a New Jersey native, who tragically died following injuries he sustained that day. Many more are still dealing with trauma. In Brian's honor, I introduced a resolution condemning those blanket pardons.
We must never forget their sacrifice. We cannot let Donald Trump and his allies rewrite the history of one of the darkest moments in the 250-year history of this Nation.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks.
Now I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks. I will now yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Foushee).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks. I now yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
Kaptur).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
Mr. KENNEDY of New York. Mr. Speaker, first, I will recognize the CBC and Chairwoman Clarke and Representatives Clyburn and Hoyer for hosting this Special Order hour.
Mr. Speaker, five years ago, our Nation watched in horror as the President of the United States incited a violent attack on this Capitol to overturn an election that he lost.
At least 140 officers were viciously assaulted and injured, beaten with flagpoles and fire extinguishers, sprayed with chemicals and tased, all in defense of our democracy.
In the days and weeks following the attack, we lost five of those police officers, those brave heroes. We mourn their loss.
The Department of Justice convicted more than 1,000 rioters and had hundreds of cases pending. With a stroke of a pen on his first day in office, President Trump pardoned every single one, putting violent offenders back on our streets.
Since their release, what have some of those pardoned rioters done? They have been charged with assaulting police officers, making terrorist threats, and preying on children. That is who this President set free: violent individuals and child predators.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle ought to recognize the darkness this day represents for our country. The Republican majority must restore checks and balances and finally hold this President accountable before it is too late.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his co-anchorship of these few minutes that we have spent together here on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, you have heard from many of our distinguished colleagues about the events of January 6, the insurrection that has been misnamed by many of my colleagues. These issues are of great importance to the members of the Congressional Black Caucus. In fact, they are of great importance to our constituents and to all Americans.
When I think about this day, as many of us will be traveling all over the country--in fact, I am going to be in the hometown of Representative Kennedy to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day I think on the 18 of this month--I am thinking tonight about King's letter from the Birmingham City Jail, which many of us remember was written in response to a letter that he had received from eight White clergymen who said to King that they wanted him to leave Birmingham.
They told King that they thought he was a disruptive force, and they thought that if he were to leave the community, things would be better. They told King in their letter to him that they did not want him to get them wrong because they believed in his cause, but they just thought that his timing was wrong.
Mr. Speaker, King, in his answer to them, said that time itself is neutral. The time is never right. Time is never wrong. Time is always what we make it.
He had a concluding thought there that I have been thinking about all day. King said that he was coming to the conclusion that the people of ill will in our society are making a much better use of time than the people of good will.
Mr. Speaker, I want us to think about that. Those people who came to this building on January 6, 2021, did not have good will in their hearts nor on their minds. They were people of ill will, and they made pretty good use of their time. I will close with this.
King said: ``We are going to be made to repent in this generation not just for the vitriolic words and deeds of bad people but for the appalling silence of good people.''
Mr. Speaker, I say to my friends on the other side of the aisle who have been silent all day that they may live to regret that silence.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source