Five years on, Jan 6 riot anniversary brings fresh divisions to the Capitol

WASHINGTON — Five years ago outside the White House, outgoing United States president Donald Trump told a crowd of supporters to head to the Capitol — "and I'll be there with you" — in protest as Congress was affirming the 2020 election victory for Democrat Joe Biden.

A short time later, the world watched as the seat of US power descended into chaos, and democracy hung in the balance.

On the fifth anniversary of Jan 6,2021, there was no official event to memorialize what happened that day, when the demonstrators battled police at the Capitol barricades and stormed inside, as lawmakers fled. The political parties refuse to agree on a shared history of the events.

Instead, the day displayed the divisions that still define Washington, and the country.

Trump, during a morning speech to House Republicans at the rebranded Kennedy Center now carrying his own name, shifted blame for Jan 6 onto the rioters themselves.

The president said he had intended only for his supporters to go "peacefully and patriotically" to confront Congress as it certified Biden's win. He blamed the media for focusing on other parts of his speech that day.

At the same time, Democrats held their own morning meeting at the Capitol, reconvening members of the House committee that investigated the Jan 6 attack for a panel discussion.

Recalling the history of the day is important, they said, in order to prevent what Representative Jamie Raskin warned was the GOP's "Orwellian project of forgetting".

This milestone anniversary carried echoes of the deep differences that erupted that day.

Outside the Capitol, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and his Senate counterpart Chuck Schumer held a candlelight vigil with lawmakers and family members of police officers to mark the anniversary.

At a morning hearing, lawmakers heard from a range of witnesses and others. It included former US Capitol Police officer Winston Pingeon, who said that as a kid he always dreamed of being a cop. However, on that day, he thought he was going to die in the mayhem on the steps of the Capitol.

"I implore America to not forget what happened," he said, urging the country to find common ground.

"I believe the vast majority of Americans have so much more in common than what separates us."

Republican's rejection

Republican Representative Barry Loudermilk, who has been tapped by House Speaker Mike Johnson to lead a new committee to probe other theories about what happened on Jan 6, 2021, rejected Tuesday's session as a "partisan exercise" designed to hurt Trump and his allies.

At least five people died in the Capitol siege and its aftermath. The Justice Department indicted Trump on four counts in a conspiracy to defraud voters with his claims of a rigged election in the run-up to the Jan 6, 2021, attack.

Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers last month that the riot at the Capitol "does not happen" without Trump. He ended up abandoning the case once Trump was reelected president, adhering to department guidelines against prosecuting a sitting president.

Trump was impeached by the House on the sole charge of having incited the insurrection. The Senate acquitted him after top Republican senators said they believed the matter was best left to the courts.

Ahead of the 2024 election, the Supreme Court ruled former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution.

Agencies - Xinhua