HARTFORD, Conn. — A year after hundreds of people stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. in an apparent attempt to prevent lawmakers from confirming the Electoral College vote for the 2020 presidential election, Connecticut leaders are reflecting on what happened that day and the state of democracy today.
Gov. Ned Lamont issued a statement on Twitter Thursday morning:
"If you stand up for democracy and stand by our police, then all Republicans and Democrats alike must denounce the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol and those who inspired it."
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) addressed the Senate floor Wednesday, calling on Congress to take action to preserve and defend American democracy.
"Trump and his followers decided they were not going to just give up power just because their candidate lost an election. Their decision to put power ahead of the rule of law is, frankly, totally understandable...Wanting power and being willing to do anything to get power: it's as old as civilization," Murphy said.
"It wasn't a spontaneous, random act of mass violence. It was a coordinated attempt to use violence, or at least the threat of violence for many, to void the 2020 election and install Donald Trump as an elected leader of the United States of America," he added.
And on Thursday at a news conference on the steps of the state capitol, Senator Murphy said, "I think our nation is at its most fragile moment since the Civil War. This legislation: it doesn't cure all of these ills that plague American democracy today, but it certainly makes it much less likely that we will see democracy overthrown during our lifetime."
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal reflected Thursday, saying, "This day will always haunt me, we were witnesses to attempted physical assault even murder. They wanted to kill us. They wanted to hurt us."
Congressman Joe Courtney released a statement recounting the day, saying it was a shocking and destructive insurrection. Courtney remembered those who loss their life or who were injured trying to defend the Capitol Building, including D.C. officer Brian Sicknick who was pepper-sprayed during the attack and later lost his life.
“A complete, credible, and transparent investigation must be carried out to expose the root causes of this despicable, anti-American event,” Rep. Courtney continued. “It’s clear that the target of their violence was the Constitutional process underway last January 6th—namely, the final count of the Electoral College and the peaceful transition of power, which has been a hallmark of our democracy since George Washington ceded office to his successor in 1797. What is less clear to many Americans are the forces that drove the mob to storm our country’s Capitol building that day. To simply walk away from this sort of red alert for our democracy would be unconscionable. The House investigation, which I voted for, needs to pursue the facts and the law vigorously and fully. The attempt by witnesses and persons of interest to evade or whitewash the investigation cannot be tolerated.”
“I am proud to have been part of the U.S. Congress that assembled back in the House at 3:00am on January 7th, after that violent riot was put to an end, and to have cast my ballot to certify the lawful returns of the 2020 election,” Courtney concluded. “I was determined to execute that act of fidelity to the U.S. Constitution, if for no other reason than to keep faith with the police officers who held the line for our democracy that day—and I wasn’t alone. Those final votes to certify the 2020 election were bipartisan, and that should be a reminder that as a nation we’ve still got it in us to come together around a shared set of principles and one common oath, namely to preserve and protect our constitutional republic.”
Attorney General William Tong recounted an election controversy that was "one of the many ugly battles" that emerged weeks before the attacks happened.
He recalled he got a phone call in December 2020, which informed him that Texas and 17 other states went to the Supreme Court to try to overturn the presidential election results. Connecticut and 23 other states then came together to try to stop them.
He said that many Attorneys General across the country were fighting before and after the election to "preserve the integrity of our democracy and the will of voters."
In regards to the events on Jan. 6, 2021, Tong said, "It was a violent insurrection that I never expected in my lifetime to see on American soil. The work to identify and bring to justice the lawless criminals who instigated, aided, and abetted this failed coup continues. Those in law enforcement and Congress carrying out that solemn task have my deepest respect. Those responsible—including those seeking to hide behind their official offices-- must be brought to justice and held accountable for lying to the American people, for encouraging the insurrection, and for treason. The tear gas may have dissipated, but the attacks on our democracy and the legitimacy of our elections have not subsided, and they did not spontaneously commence on that day.
"The Big Lie regarding the 2020 presidential election is a precisely that—a lie. Americans cast their ballots in a safe, free and fair election in 2020, and there is not a shred of doubt as to who won the presidency. But that Big Lie and malignant disinformation continues to spread rampant and unchecked on social media and partisan news sources. That Lie is being cynically pushed by those seeking to advance politically motivated and unconstitutional voter suppression laws in battleground states across the nation. In coordination with my fellow attorneys general, we are fighting in the Supreme Court and federal courts across the country to defeat these lawless power grabs, and to protect the rights of all to cast their ballots in free and fair elections. We do not have a democracy without trust in our democratic processes, and without the peaceful transfer of power. Our country held together this time. On this January 6, we can never again take that for granted.”
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill oversees elections and voting in Connecticut, as well as civic engagement. She released a statement ahead of Thursday, Jan. 6, saying,
“For nearly 250 years, American democracy has been marked by the peaceful transfer of power. In election after election, regardless of party or result, the losers of elections have ceded their offices to the winners. Love for America and our democracy requires respect for election results, even when they don’t go the way some voters want.
One year ago, un-American insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol and trod on our peaceful democratic traditions in an attempt to overturn the results of the election and seize control of the United States government. The legacy of this attempted coup, incited by Donald Trump, is a direct attack on the pillars of our democracy – including our elections and the free press. We will all remember where we were on January 6, 2021, and it will live in our memories as a violent threat to democracy.
The insurrection was just the beginning of the threats of violence. The lie that the election was stolen has been repeated over and over again. State and local election officials, particularly in the critical swing states have been threatened. For the last year, election workers have looked on in horror at the stories our colleagues have told of harassment and threats. Just in the last week, an investigation has shown that threats on Facebook have become commonplace, many of them aimed at local and state election officials, even threatening the deaths of individuals who administer elections. The 2020 election was held in exactly the same way with the same checks and balances that we have always used, carried out by literally thousands of patriotic Americans of both political parties who helped voters safely and securely cast their ballots. No election worker or volunteer should ever feel threatened because they carried out their constitutional duty to hold a free and fair election. Every election will now be challenged, with the losers aware that the election can be questioned without even a shred of evidence of wrongdoing.
The story of American democracy has always been the story of fighting to ensure that every American is able to cast their ballot and have it counted in a free and fair election. The coup attempt on January 6 tried to undo that history, and has opened the door to grifters, charlatans, and frauds who have directly attacked Americans’ faith in their elections for their own gain, political or otherwise. Every American patriot must recommit their efforts to rebuilding that faith, to supporting the election workers and volunteers whose hard work make our elections possible, and to protecting our fragile democracy.”
CT Democrats across Connecticut met virtually Thursday morning to speak out against the capitol attack and call on their Republican colleagues to condemn extremism.
Community activists in West Hartford will be holding a "Vigil for Democracy" outside the town hall at 6 p.m. on Thursday. They will be remembering those who died and were injured defending the U.S. Capitol, "and reaffirm support for the U.S. Constitution, the rule of law, and America's democratic institutions."
A handful of Connecticut residents accused of participating in the riot have been arrested, including one from New London, a mother and daughter from Canterbury, and a Harwinton resident.
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