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Security is intense outside the Capitol today — a night-and-day difference from four years ago.
There are multiple layers of fencing, significant road closures around the complex, and police officers dogged about demanding staff and press show ID. Even for those who are credentialed, it’s a maze to get inside.
During a 15-minute walk inside the Capitol and a nearby Senate office building, this reporter spotted far more police than civilians.
Four years after rioters crashed into Capitol Hill, Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he will “never allow the violence that unfolded in plain sight to be whitewashed.”
“The thugs who were part of the violent mob on January 6 desecrated the Capitol, threatened to hang the Vice President, assassinate the Speaker of the House and hunt down Members of Congress,” the congressman wrote in a statement on Bluesky today.
As Trump is set to be certified for the second time later today, Jeffries pointed to the “violent mob” that attacked the Capitol in 2021 “as part of a concerted effort to halt the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in American history.”
“They were not peace-loving individuals,” Jeffries added.
Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., falsely claimed in a lengthy post on X this morning that “thousands of peaceful grandmothers” gathered Jan. 6, 2021, to take a tour of the U.S. Capitol building and that people peacefully explored the building.
“Earlier that day, President Trump held a rally, where supporters walked to the Capitol to peacefully protest the certification of the 2020 election. During this time, some individuals entered the Capitol, took photos, and explored the building before leaving,” Collins falsely claimed in his post.
He added the untrue claim that since Jan. 6, 2021, “hundreds of peaceful protestors have been hunted down, arrested, held in solitary confinement, and treated unjustly. Countless hours and taxpayer dollars have been spent pursuing innocent grandmothers and raiding President Trump’s home.”
Collins’ office didn’t immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment on his false claims.
Other Republican lawmakers have also spread lies claiming that the people inside the Capitol that day were just touring the building.
The FBI has estimated that as many as 2,500 people made their way inside the Capitol after rioters breached security personnel who were protecting the building while the 2020 election certification was underway.
More than 1,580 defendants have been charged in the attack and more than 1,270 have been convicted or pleaded guilty. Of those, at least 667 defendants have been sentenced to incarceration ranging from a few days to 22 years in prison.
According to the Justice Department, about 140 police officers were assaulted during that attack on the Capitol.
Former U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said in an opinion piece published last night in The New York Times that it has been “devastating to me to hear Donald Trump repeat his promise to pardon insurrectionists.”
“Releasing those who assaulted us from blame would be a desecration of justice,” Gonell wrote. “If Mr. Trump wants to heal our divided nation, he’ll let their convictions stand.”
Gonell, who was injured during the riot, has testified about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Gonell wrote that if Trump pardons Jan. 6 defendants, “it could also put me in danger, as I’ve continued to testify in court and I’ve given victim statements in cases against dozens of the rioters who assaulted me and my fellow officers.”
Democratic lawmakers sounded a somewhat optimistic tone about how smoothly the certification process set to take place later today can go.
With more security measures in place, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Washington is prepared for today’s certification events.
“We have, as you note, a new police chief, increased morale, many hundreds of more officers, and we have a plan and a strategy in place,” Klobuchar said yesterday on CNN. “That’s not to say there aren’t threats all the time on members of Congress or on the Capitol, but I feel very strongly that we have made major shifts.”
Klobuchar said she does not know of any Democrats preparing to raise objections during the certification process.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said Democrats will not protest the results or storm the Capitol to stop the certification.
“In fact, tomorrow, snow willing, we will be certifying President Trump’s election. You will not see Democrats stand up and protest that,” Smith said yesterday on Fox News. “You will certainly not see them storm the United States Capitol to try and stop that certification. We accept the election of President Trump, and we will do our best to work with him going forward.”
But Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, cautioned people not to be “conned by the denial of the election of 2020.”
“It’s really a strange person who’s going to be president of the United States who thinks that it’s OK to pardon people who are engaged in an attack,” Pelosi said yesterday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”.
Biden told reporters yesterday that Jan. 6, 2021, “should not be rewritten.”
He went on to emphasize the importance of a peaceful transfer of power, saying, “I’ve reached out to make sure there’s a smooth transition.”
“We got to get back to basic, normal transfer of power,” he said yesterday after a signing ceremony for the Social Security Fairness Act.
Biden was also asked whether he believes Trump is still a threat to democracy.
“I think what he did was a genuine threat to democracy,” he said, adding he was hopeful Trump was now beyond that.
Former Capitol Police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, reflected on the attack’s fourth anniversary as Trump prepares to take office for the second time.
Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, who was assaulted by multiple rioters and sustained injuries requiring surgery, blasted MAGA Republicans who he says “turned their backs on police officers who defended them from Trump’s mob.”
“Pardons or not, Republicans in name only, aka MAGA, can’t erase history. They have turned their backs on police officers who defend them from Trump’s mob. The same mob of rioters who they ran for their lives in fear,” Aquilino wrote in a statement shared with MSNBC’s Ana Cabrera.
“These dishonorable elected officials are alive because what officers like myself did, not because of the mob’s lack of trying. They want to rewrite history: Trump and the rioters broke laws and committed crimes. They should not be rewarded,” he added.
Gonnell called on Trump to remember the officers who died by suicide after the riot.
“Remember their names and the colleagues. They paid the ultimate sacrifice and instead of meeting with their families and us, the remaining officers, Republicans have chosen to support and pardon the people who assaulted us. How pathetic is that?” he said.
Gonnell said in an opinion piece published last night in The New York Times that it has been “devastating to me to hear Donald Trump repeat his promise to pardon insurrectionists.” He also called for letting rioters’ convictions stand and wrote that if Trump pardons Jan. 6 defendants, “it could also put me in danger, as I’ve continued to testify in court and I’ve given victim statements in cases against dozens of the rioters who assaulted me and my fellow officers.”
Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn said that Trump’s election in November felt like a “gut punch” and that American voters had let down officers who responded to the attack.
“We put our hope in the institutions to stop Trump. (Senate, courts, Supreme Court) they all failed us. The voters did also in November. They sent a message that what happened on January 6 wasn’t a big enough deal to disqualify him. And sadly it just feels like a gut punch,” Dunn said in a text to Cabrera.
Late yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed concern over attendance on Capitol Hill today because of the winter weather and suggested the certification must happen on Jan. 6 no matter what.
“The Electoral Count Act requires this on January 6, at 1pm, so whether we’re in a blizzard or not, we’re going to be in that chamber making sure this is done,” Johnson, R-La., wrote to his colleagues over the weekend.
If some lawmakers are unable to make it into town today, the count could still proceed.
However, as with most matters, a majority of the House and the Senate should be present to avoid potential objections to the process.
Since the House and the Senate were both in session Friday, some members could have stuck around in Washington over the weekend. House Republicans also had a retreat nearby Saturday, meaning many of them didn’t travel far from Washington over the weekend.
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