By Maureen Chowdhury, Adrienne Vogt, Aditi Sangal, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner, Melissa Mahtani and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN
Updated 12:46 AM EST, Fri January 7, 2022
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Officers who faced off with rioters on what needs to change in Capitol security
02:16 - Source: CNN
What we covered here
- The US marked the one-year anniversary ofthe deadly Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
- President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harrisdelivered remarks, with Biden calling out former President Trump for attempting to undo American democracy.
- A slate of events were held on Capitol Hill to commemorate the day, including a prayer vigil with members of the House and Senate.
- CNN hosted a live conversation with lawmakers and members of the law enforcement community tasked with protecting the Capitol.
Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the Capitol riot investigation here.
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Jan. 6 committee chair and vice chair on what comes next for the Capitol riot investigation
From CNN's Leinz Vales and Ryan NoblesRep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Bennie Thompson speak with CNN's Jake Tapper at the US Capitol on Thursday.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Jan. 6 House select committee, said the committee is investigating individuals who tried to change the 2020 election outcome and that the panel still needs to talk to “quite a few people.”
“I can tell you that we arelearning that individual’s conspired tochange the outcome of theelection. And that is very concerning, that they used assets of thefederal government to try andpromote the big lie.That they intimidated stateofficials toward the big lie,” Thompson said during a CNN special with Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper.
Thompson made it clear the committee is very interested in the attempts to use the power of the federal government to attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
“We have to tellthat story.We’ll be able to document it.And I am concerned that even thereplacement of certain people,to accomplish the big lie, wasunder consideration,” Thompson said.“So, the vice chair and I have joined together to make sure democracy stands in this country.”
Thompson and Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the Jan. 6select committee, said they still believe there is a chance they will be able to conclude that the actions of former President Trump and some of his associates constitute a crime.
When asked directly by Tapper if he believed that officials in the inner circle of the Trump White House conspired to undermine the election results, Thompson replied: “No question.”
When Tapper asked if Trump himself was to blame, Thompson responded,“Look —Donald Trump is an open book.Everyone watching this show, they have an opinion of it.He is not known to tell thetruth, he is known to promotelies.But, in this instance heinvited people to Washington,on January 6th.And, and at the end of his invitation he said it was ‘going to be wild.’Little did we know, it would beas wild as it was.”
Thompson said the committee is working on a report to document their findings.
The panel is aiming to release an interim report in the summer and a final report in the fall. The committee is also preparing for a series of public hearings intended to address Trump’s continuedfalse claimsthat the election was somehow fraudulent.
Read more about the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation here.
Officers at Jan. 6 attack recount harrowing moments from Capitol steps: "We had a job to do"
From CNN's Leinz ValesDC Metropolitan Police commander Ramey Kyle and DC Metropolitan Police officer Mike Fanone, who helped defend the Capitol on Jan. 6, relived the harrowing moments of the insurrection on the building’s steps and near the tunnel where clashes unfolded.
“I heard a radio transmissioncome out for a distress callfrom the Lower West Terrace tunnel,” Fanone told CNN’s Don Lemon.
“That’s where we encounteredcommander Kyle.Who was orchestrating thedefense of the Capitol from theLower West Terrace.And he was commanding about 40or 50 MPD officers, and about ahalf dozen US Capitol policeofficers who were standingshoulder to shoulder, bodyagainst body, fighting backthousands of violent rioters,” he told CNN.
Kyle told Lemon that he’s known officer Fanone his entire career, but did not know that he was standing next to him.
Kyle went on to describe the moment he approached the West Front of the Capitol.
Kyle told Lemon there “wasn’t time to be scared” as the chaos unfolded.
“I kind of helped start shoring up some of our defenses here to the south of this terrace. The bicycle racks, they were really kinda a force multiplier for us. We fought all the way up these stairs, all the way up,” he continued.
Lemon asked Kyle about objects that were thrown at the officers and whether they were armed.
“At one point in the tunnel, Ilooked down and there wasnothing but baseball bats andhammers and wrenches and anykind of hard object you couldthink of that had been thrown atus or used against us,” Kyle said.
“They were armed,” Kyle said when Don noted that some people have said the rioters were not armed that day.“I had one of their pistols in mypocket.”
The commander went on to say that he was proud of fellow officers that day, but felt disgust about the events that took place.
“I’m just disgusted that so manypeople lost their lives,” Kyle said “People were injured.Property was damaged.The Capitol was breached.”
Watch the interview here.
Pelosi staffer recalls fearing for her life as rioters approached: "Was I going to makeit out that day?"
From CNN's Jason KurtzLeah Han is a staff assistant for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. One year ago today she was rushing through the halls of the Capitol, hoping to stay safe as rioters invaded.
Noting that the chanting sounded “full of rage,” Han recalls recognizing that the rioters had moved even closer.
“As it got louder andlouder, I realized that theyhad come into our office,” she added.
Han says she can’t remember specifically what was being yelled, but she is clear on how the voices made her feel.
“My heart dropped,” she said. “Do theyhave these weapons on them?What were they gonna do if theyfound us?…Was I going to makeit out that day?”
Han revealed to Tapper that she feared for her life in that moment of uncertainty, saying she “absolutely” thought she would die that day.
“My mind did wander,” she said, adding “I thought of all the worstthings that can happen: torture, hostage, rape,everything.”
Han waited until she was safe before connecting with her parents.
“They were very angry, ofcourse, that I had to gothrough all of that.And like any parent would.Their child just went throughsuch a traumatic day, they didn’t even know if I was going to come home either,” Han explained, adding that her parents remain supportive as she continues to work at the Capitol despite the violence of the insurrection.
“They see that I have beenbrave.I am still willing to go towork despite all of this.They’re proud of me,” she said.
Sen. Klobuchar gives live tour of path senators took through desecrated US Capitol building on Jan. 6
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, gave a live tour to CNN’s Jake Tapper of the path she took with her Senate colleagues after rioters desecrated parts of the US Capitol building on the day of the insurrection.
Klobuchar showed the mahogany boxes, which historically since 1877 ceremonially hold the electoral college ballots from all 50 states, that were saved by staffers who grabbed the boxes before rioters entered the Senate chamber.
At the end of the tour, Klobuchar added, “I think it is important wenever forget.That’s why I thought it wasimportant to take you down thishallway.”
Watch:
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06:16 - Source: cnn
US Capitol employee remembers seeing officers with "head wounds, cutsand scrapes on their arms" on Jan. 6
Bobby Johnson, the Capitol Service Center manager, was just 30 feet from an area that was breached on Jan. 6, 2021, by rioters in what would become a day he would never forget.
Johnson recalled seeing sergeantof arms personnel walk by his office with guns drawn and then “other policeofficers in riot gear came by,and then more and more and more,” Johnson told CNN.
Johnson said he remembered two men asking if he had any first-aid kits but they had run out and all they had “was paper towels andduct tape” which they used.
“They started wrapping eachother’s fists and we werehelping to wipe the blood off.And it was something,” Johnson said.
Daughter of Rep. Raskin recounts the fear she felt on Jan. 6 while hiding under Rep. Hoyer's desk
Rep. Jamie Raskin, left, and his daughter Tabitha Raskin recount the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
Tabitha Raskin, the daughter of Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, recounted the events of Jan. 6, 2021, while she was at the US Capitol during the riot.
Raskin said she was separated from her father at the time in Rep. Steny Hoyer’s office. When she heard the rioters break into the building, she and her husband Hank Kronick sought refuge under Hoyer’s desk.
GOP Rep. Cheney: "Critically important" Trump never gets close to the Oval Office again
From CNN's Jason KurtzRepublican lawmaker Liz Cheney says her party should not allow former President Trump to gain the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
“Look, what we saw him doafter the election, what we sawhim do on the 6th, areabsolutely disqualifying,” Cheney told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
As Tapper noted that Trump would be a Republican frontrunner should he choose to run, Cheney further detailed why she feels the former president isn’t fit to again become America’s commander-in-chief.
“When you havesomebody who has demonstrated hislack of fidelity to theConstitution, someone who is atwar with the rule of law, youcannot entrust that person withthe power of the presidency everagain,” she said.
Almost a full year since Trump left office, Cheney says it’s vital he doesn’t earn a second term.
Cheney also talked about the state of the Republican party.“We’re certainly in a very dangerous place as a party. I think that right now we have a cult of personality. We have too many people in the party who have decided to embrace the former president.”
“Right now my party is not embracing truth, is not embracing substance and seriousness,” she said.
CNN’s Ryan Nobles contributed reporting to this post.
Rep. Raskin on decision to go to the Capitol the day of riot, despite losing his son the week earlier
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, walked into the US Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 with the purpose of certifying the 2020 election results despite losing his son a week earlier.
Raskin told CNN’s Anderson Cooper during tonight’s special that his sense of duty is what gave him the strength to come into the Capitol building for the election certification.
Raskin’s daughter, Tabitha, and son-in-law, Hank Kronick, accompanied him to the Capitol to offer support and then the unthinkable happened, a mob of rioters breached the building and set off hours of chaos.
Raskin’s daughter and son-in-law took refuge in Rep. Steny Hoyer’s Capitol office. Raskin was separated from them for about an hour while he evacuated with his colleagues to the House side.
More context: Asked about how he managed to keep his composure and continue to fight for the election to be certified, Raskin told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Jan. 17, 2021: “I’m not going to lose my son at the end of 2020 and lose my country and my republic in 2021.”
Raskin went on to become the lead impeachment manager weeks after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and is now a member of the House Jan. 6 select committee investigating the riot.
Cheney on fellow Republicans downplaying the Capitol riot: "That’s how democracies die"
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, who is the vice chair of the House Jan. 6 select committee, said that her fellow GOP colleagues who are downplaying the gravity of the Capitol riot are “failing to live up to their oath of office.”
When asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper what she would say to them, Cheney told him:
Scarf that congresswoman carried on the day of the insurrection featured voting card of enslaved ancestor
Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester displays a scarf featuring the voting card that belonged to her "great-great-great-grandfather" who was enslaved.
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat from Delaware, discussed the significance of the scarf that she carried with her on the day she was sworn in and on Jan. 6, 2021, which features the voting card that belonged to her “great-great-great-grandfather” who was enslaved.
Rochester said that her sister “found a record of the returns of qualified voters and Reconstruction oath.” That record was from 1867, Rochester added.
Rep. Liz Cheney says her father visited the House today to "pay hisrespects"
Wyoming Rep.Liz Cheney and former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney walk through the US Capitol on Thursday.
Wyoming Rep.Liz Cheney, the vice chair of the committee investigating Jan. 6 and one of its two Republican members, spoke about why her father Dick Cheney felt moved to visit the House earlier today on the one-year anniversary of the US Capitol riot.
Former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter were the only two Republicans on the House floor during a remembrance of the riot.
The Jan. 6 committee has been investigating the attack and the events leading up to it since earlier this year.Much of the committee’s work to this point has taken place behind closed doors,and an interim report on its findings is not expected until the summer.
Police officer says doorway he stood in front of to defend the Capitol on Jan. 6 still isn't reinforced
US Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, left, speaks to CNN's Jake Tapper alongside DC Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges.
US Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said that there’s still “a lot of work to do” to physically secure and reinforce the US Capitol, expressing frustration over areas that have not been addressed.
Gonell discussed how the door that he defended at the US Capitol is still not reinforced and said that measures like that could help boost morale among police officers.
“I just walked, this morning, fromthe same entrance where I almostlost my life and them as well,and the only thing that haschanged is the glass on thedoor.The door has still not been reinforced.I wish they had, it’s been almosta year now.I think a lot of officers, ifthey see a lot of reinforcementof the building, that will givethem a lot of sense ofprotection a lot of things willimprove and that will help withmorale, it will help withretaining officers as well,” Gonell said.
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester: I "saw the guns and I realized I don't have anything to protect me but God"
From CNN's Jason KurtzOne year since the riot on the US Capitol, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat from Delaware, remembers how quickly the focus of the day shifted as the violence erupted.
“I wasin that gallery… we volunteered togo up there to witness thepeaceful transfer of power, towitness the certification ofthis presidency,” Blunt Rochester began, before noting the inexplicable change of focus.
“When it all broke out, I justremember, [thinking] figure it out, how dowe get out of here, how do youopen this, how do you get aroundthis room,” she said.
Blunt Rochester remembers ultimately feeling defenseless, having only her faith to lean on.
Growing emotional while sharing her story with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Blunt Rochester revealed that her moment of faith was shared by others even outside of Washington.
“People around the countryhave said to me, ‘When you gotdown on your knees and prayed,we got down on our knees.’Families across the country,” she said.
Aside from the physical danger of that day, Blunt Rochester is also quick to reflect upon the political and national significance of the riot.
“We just don’t want people toforget how close we came tolosing our democracy.If a number of us had died, wewouldn’t have been able to goback in and vote to certify thatelection,” noted the lawmaker. “That’s how serious it was.”
Rep. Jason Crowcalls the events of Jan. 6 surreal and something he's "processing to this day"
The last thing Rep. Jason Crowexpected on Jan. 6, 2021, was to step back into his prior life as a US Army Ranger, he told CNN one year after the US Capitol was stormed by insurrectionists.
Crow, a Colorado Democrat, said “that’s alife I thought I had left behinda long time ago.”
Crow was famously pictured crouched down comforting Rep. Susan Wild, a Pennsylvania Democrat, while taking cover as rioters entered the Capitol a year ago.
Officer at Capitol riot: "It was because of politics Jan. 6 happened"
From CNN's Leinz ValesOne year after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, US Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn said Thursday that no one can deny that “January 6 was political.”
Last year, Dunn and his fellow officers met with members of Congress to garner support for an independent commission to investigate the attack on the US Capitol, but the House bill was blocked in the Senate by Republicans. The House went on to create a select committee to investigate the events surrounding the riot.
Former DC police officer: Capitol Police need to change "leadership culture" within the department
From CNN's Jason KurtzA former DC Metropolitan Police officer says that one year since the riot, the Capitol Police department still needs to improve, specifically at the executive level.
“The failures of the US CapitolPolice’s command staff onJan. 6 are outrageous.And they still have yet to beaddressed,” said Fanone.
“There are members of theircommand staff that do not belongin a position of leadership,” he said, adding, “They should not be responsiblefor officers’ lives.”
Fanone also stated that he feels certain shortcomings from one year ago should have been met with job termination.
“They failed them on January 6thand it’s time that they found adifferent career path,” he aded.
Pelosi on measures being taken to secure the US Capitol: "More needs to be done"
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the measures being taken to secure the US Capitol building following the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Pelosi told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that measures to physically secure the building are being implemented to make the Capitol more “sturdy so that peoplecannot break in that way” they did on Jan. 6, 2021.
Pelosi also said that more focus needs to be put on US Capitol personnel, specifically the police department.
She went on to explain how the pandemic has impacted efforts to bulk up the department, adding that it has impacted the reopening of the Capitol building to the general public.
“TheCapitol Hill police, the morale,the numbers, the intelligence divisions and the rest, that is all moved way down theline,” she said during a CNN special.
In July 2021, the House passed a $2 billion Capitol Hill security spending bill in response tothe deadly Jan. 6 insurrection.
Former DC police officer: "We have not attained the accountability that I would have expected"
Former DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone said that watching footage from the riot at the Capitol last year is a reminder of how much still needs to be done to hold the insurrectionists accountable.
Some context: A year after theJan. 6 insurrection,the Justice Department continues to press forward on the biggest investigation in FBI history, with 700 people already arrested and hundreds more offenders still at large and several more years of prosecutions ahead.
But the expansive investigation has yet to shed light on how vigorously the former president and political allies could be investigated for inciting rioters by spreading a lie that the election was stolen and asking them to march to the Capitol.
After opening aggressively, with prosecutors raising the prospect of using a rarely used seditious conspiracy law to charge some Capitol attackers, the Justice Department since Attorney General Merrick Garland took office in March 2021 has settled into a less headline-grabbing approach that Justice officials say is intended to keep the probe away from the political maelstrom.
Read more about the investigation here.
CNN’s Evan PerezandKatelyn Polantz contributed reporting to this post.
Pelosi: "I wish Republicans in the country would take back their party"
From CNN's Leinz ValesHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday night that she wants the Republican Party to be a vibrant political party.
Former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney were the only two Republicans on the House floor during a remembrance of the January 6 riot.
The former vice president slammed Republican leaders in Congress, saying they do not resemble the leaders he remembered from his time in the body.
“It’s not leadership that resembles any of the folks I knew when I was here for 10 years,” Cheney said at the Capitol Thursday.
Pelosi discussed her perspective on how lawmakers should serve in Congress.
“We have a difference of opinion on a spectrum of things,” Pelosi said. “You come to Congress with your ideas representing. It’s the House of Representatives, your job title and job description are the same, representative. So you know that you may have confidence in what you believe, but you have humility to recognize othersare representing theirdistricts. And for a long time that’s how I served in the Congress.”
Pelosi on officers who defended the Capitol: "We owe them so much. They saved our lives."
From CNN's Jason KurtzHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi remembers seeing rioters rush through the Capitol one year ago, noting that though they weren’t able to get into the House chamber, they did make their way into her office area.
“They were in my office, which is right there,” said Pelosi, gesturing for CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
“What if they had found you?” Cooper asked during CNN’s special. “What would have happened?”
“They said they were going to shoot me in the brain,” Pelosi revealed, quickly noting, “I wasn’t worried about myself.”
The House Speaker said she was more concerned for her colleagues and members of law enforcement.
“I was worried about the Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police. We owe them so much. They saved our lives,” she said.
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