Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative James E (Jim) Clyburn (6th District of South Carolina)
I rise today, to pay homage to the men and women who five 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./Madam 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 17th private 8-hour interview with Special Counsel Jack Smith, whose investigation into the events of that day led him to describe January 6th as an event that “does not happen” without Donald 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. These crimes were committed for his benefit. The other co-conspirators were doing this for his benefit,” Smith said. Trump caused the violence, exploited it, and refused to stop it.
Mr./Madam 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 U.S. 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. Insurrectionists waved Confederate battle flags and exhibited Nazi symbols, and some brave American citizens died. A Republican Senator [Sen. Ron Johnson] said, “By and large—it was a peaceful protest.” 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, Trump granted blanket pardons and commutations to nearly 1,600 of the rioters who stormed this Capitol on January 6. The President decided 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 his oath to uphold the Constitution. These actions demonstrate a blatant disregard of our democratic institutions 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 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.
But, 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 bi-partisan January 6th Committee, ably chaired by Representative Bennie Thompson (MS-02), illuminated for the American people the severity of the conspiracies behind the January 6th 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 five 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 five 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 6th 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, entitled “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.
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 took our great nation into a dark place that lasted for nearly a century.
The book is a cautionary tale that reminds us of the admonish of the Spanish philosopher, George Santayana that, “Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.” I fear that danger is facing us today. The aftermath of January 6, 2021, continues to test our ability to protect our freedoms and our willingness to continue our trek towards a more perfect Union.