Several Minnesota Democrat legislators made statements on the one year anniversary of January 6, 2021, where protesters entered the U.S. Capitol building during the certification of the 2020 presidential election. All the remarks held a common theme, calling out the event as “insurrection” and an “attack on democracy.”
Governor Tim Walz (D) shared his thoughts, saying that on January 6 “we witnessed an assault on our democracy when the U.S. Capitol building was stormed during an attempted insurrection.” He went on to say that steps must be taken to ensure that it “never happens again.”
A year ago, we witnessed an assault on our democracy when the U.S. Capitol building was stormed during an attempted insurrection. Today, we must protect and uphold our democratic ideals by ensuring this never happens again.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 6, 2022
The Minnesota Democrat Farmer Laborer (DFL) Party also tweeted out in apparent disgust of the Republican “dismissiveness” regarding January 6. They wrote that “multiple people lost their lives as a mob of Trump supporters tried to use violence to overturn a free and fair election.”
It is stunning how dismissive the head of the Minnesota Republican Party is about the assault on the Capitol, where multiple people lost their lives as a mob of Trump supporters tried to use violence to overturn a free and fair election.
— Minnesota DFL Party (@MinnesotaDFL) January 5, 2022
The Minnesota DFL criticized Minnesota Republican Party Chair David Hann over his comments regarding January 6, where he said, “I certainly would call it a disturbance of some kind, but I have not been spending a lot of time thinking about it and I don’t know anybody else who has other than Democrats and I guess the media.”
Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) also had a lot to say about the day.
She tweeted, “There’s no getting around what happened. On January 6, there was a violent attack on the United States, led by insurrectionists whose goal was to overthrow the free and fair election of President Biden. This happened because Donald Trump incited them to violence.”
Smith also connected January 6 to the current actions of Republican politicians saying, “The plan is clear. Step 1) Make it harder to vote. Step 2) Give partisans the power to overturn the people’s votes.”
There’s no getting around what happened. On January 6, there was a violent attack on the United States, led by insurrectionists whose goal was to overthrow the free and fair election of President Biden.
This happened because Donald Trump incited them to violence.
— Senator Tina Smith (@SenTinaSmith) January 6, 2022
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) also made a statement saying, “It didn’t end on January 6th. Our democracy is in danger and we must protect it.”
Last night I made the same case to the American people that I’ve been making to my Senate colleagues: It didn’t end on January 6th. Our democracy is in danger and we must protect it. pic.twitter.com/Ao3MYSSk3D
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 5, 2022
Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) also released a lengthy statement, that said she remembered “fearing for her life.
She wrote, “Today marks one year since the attacks of January 6th. I will never forget the experience of fearing for my life, my fellow members, and staff on a day designed to show the strength of our democracy. I will never forget the call I made to the father of my children, asking him to tell my children I loved them if I couldn’t.”
Omar continued, “In fact, as we speak, Donald Trump’s allies in statehouses across the country are seeking to erect barriers to voting—largely affecting low-income people, people of color, and seniors. If that’s not enough, they are stripping power from nonpartisan election officials and rewriting state laws to seize partisan control over election certification. The next coup is not only possible; it has already begun.”
Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN-04) released a video statement talking about being “trapped in the tunnel system under the Capitol.”
She continued, “A violent mob of insurrectionists inspired and directed by former President Donald Trump attacked the United States Capitol Police [and] invaded and defiled our most sacred our most sacred spaces in our nation’s capitol.”
A year after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the threats to our democracy are ongoing. As Minnesotans and as Americans, the burden to defend our democracy falls on all of us.
My message to constituents today: https://t.co/GFrViqWgAc pic.twitter.com/G2UKFAbUBr
— Rep. Betty McCollum (@BettyMcCollum04) January 6, 2022
None of Minnesota’s Republican congressional delegates made any public comments regarding January 6.
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Hayley Feland is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun and The Wisconsin Daily Star | Star News Network. Follow Hayley on Twitter or like her Facebook page. Send news tips to [email protected].
Photo “January 6” by Tyler Merbler CC BY 2.0.
