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- By Native News Online Staff
Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS), a tribal citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation, reflected on the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. She released the following statement:
January 6th, 2021 was one of the darkest days in our nation’s history. One year later, it’s still difficult to process the attack on our Capitol and on our democracy itself.
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As Congress gathered to confirm the free and fair election of President Joe Biden, the lives of Congress members and our staff, as well as Capitol Police, administrative and custodial staff, cafeteria workers, and many others were put in danger — and several people lost their lives.
Meanwhile, Trump and his allies did nothing to stop them. Instead, he tweeted throughout the day using inflammatory language to encourage the attacks.
The insurrection was an abhorrent event, but the threat of extremism exists throughout our country, and we must act to protect our democracy and those who serve it every day.
That’s why I am proud to have voted in favor of establishing the January 6th Commission to look into the events of that day, and I am proud to support them as they continue to uncover what led up to the Capitol attack.
But we still need to do more. It’s on all of us to stand unwavering in our demands to protect American democracy from present and future threats.
I want to thank the Capitol Police officers and members of armed forces who protected members of Congress and our staff that day from what could have been much more deadly and dangerous.
One year ago today, American democracy was put to the ultimate test. While it survived this attack, we must ensure that it remains protected in the future.
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