Chris Van Hollen: “I want to thank my colleague from Colorado for reminding us of how important it is for us to come together as Americans…”

“I want to thank my colleague from Colorado for reminding us of how important it is for us to come together as Americans to protect our communities and to protect our country. That is really why we are all here today on the floor of the Senate because, 1 year ago today, we witnessed a violent attack on this Capitol and on our democracy itself. It was not a sneak attack by a foreign power, like Pearl Harbor. It was not an attack by a foreign terrorist group, like 9/11. It was an attack from within, and it was orchestrated and instigated by the former President of the United States. One year later, while we have improved the physical security of this Capitol, we have not secured our democracy. Our great American experiment remains under as much threat today as it did a year ago, and we as Americans have a duty to come together to take action to protect it. The violent mob unleashed by Donald Trump a year ago stormed and sacked this Capitol. Insurrectionists scaled the ramparts, tore through the barricades, and breached this building. They used flagpoles to beat Officer Michael Fanone and used chemical spray to assault Officer Brian Sicknick, who tragically died the next day. A gallows was built outside of this Capitol while rioters chanted ``hang Mike Pence.'' Like many others, I recall watching horrifying television footage of a rioter pulling down an American flag and raising up a Trump flag in its place.…”