Democrats accuse Trump, Republicans of ‘whitewash’ 5 years after Jan 6 Capitol attack
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The US President joked and danced as he delivered a speech that made little mention of the riot by his supporters.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – Five years after the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol
The contrasting events laid bare the balance of power in Washington.
Democrats sought to revive memories of the attack, in which thousands of Trump supporters sent lawmakers scrambling for their lives in an unsuccessful attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Mr Trump, meanwhile, delivered jokes and danced to his signature song, YMCA, at a performing arts venue in Washington named for former president John F. Kennedy, which his administration has now renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center.
In an 82-minute speech to House Republicans, he briefly mentioned the riot, criticising a congressional investigation and news coverage of the attack. His White House also unveiled a website that blamed Capitol Police for turning a “peaceful demonstration into chaos”.
Later on Jan 6, about 150 Trump supporters traded insults with counter-protesters as they marched to the Capitol, where they sang the national anthem and other songs to commemorate the event.
The march was organised by Mr Enrique Tarrio, a former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group who was sentenced to 24 years in prison after being found guilty of helping to plan the attack. He was one of more than 1,500 Jan 6 participants pardoned by Mr Trump when he returned to the White House in 2024.
Mr Trump faced broad bipartisan criticism following the Jan 6 attack and the House impeached him for a second time, though the Republican-controlled Senate failed to convict him. He also faced a federal criminal prosecution, which was derailed by the Supreme Court.
The attack came after months of baseless claims by Mr Trump that the 2020 election had been stolen from him.
About 140 police officers were injured and four people died during the attack, including a Trump supporter who was shot dead by police. One police officer, who was attacked by protesters, died the following day while four of his colleagues later died by suicide.
Democrats warned that the threats to election integrity and the rule of law posed by Mr Trump have not receded.
“Donald Trump and far-right extremists in Congress have repeatedly attempted to rewrite history and whitewash the horrific events of Jan 6. We will not let that happen,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a forum marking the anniversary of the attack.
The Trump administration has sought states’ voter registration lists, prompting fears the information could be misused. Mr Trump has urged states to abandon mail-in ballots and has hinted at running for a third presidential term in 2028, which would violate the US Constitution.
He warned that Democrats could impeach him for a third time if they win control of the House in the November congressional elections.
Some Republicans, without any evidence, blamed far-left activists for the attack and party lawmakers set up a new committee to “uncover the full truth” about that day.
“True accountability requires focusing on facts, not selective storytelling for partisan gain,” the Republican chairman of the sub-committee, Mr Barry Loudermilk, said ahead of the Democrats’ hearing.
Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, a leader of the impeachment effort and the subsequent investigation into the attack, accused Republicans of doing “exactly nothing” to mark its fifth anniversary.
“The people who tried to destroy our constitutional order will be remembered as fascist traitors to their own country,” he said. REUTERS
