The images from last week’s Capitol riot are shocking and disturbing, but one is giving people hope: that of New Jersey Congressman Andy Kim cleaning up the Capitol after the attacks. Rep. Kim joined Harry Smith on NBC News’ TODAY, saying, “I tried to do as much as I could.”

He described the destruction left by the rioters: “I stood there in the center of the rotunda, and I looked around, and my heart broke. I was just devastated by what I saw. The rotunda is this center of the building. In many ways, it’s the center of our democracy.”

Kim then detailed his motivation for spending the remainder of the night cleaning the Capitol up by hand, explaining, “I’ve been thinking a lot about what it just means to be a caretaker of our democracy. And I think that that starts by just being a caretaker for our Capitol, for being a caretaker to our institutions, and showing them the respect that they demand.”

He concluded, “Even quiet actions can be the ones that, somehow, sometimes, make the strongest arguments and the strongest points.”

The interview aired on NBC News’ TODAY this morning: http://on.today.com/3nyBgOb

HARRY SMITH: Good morning. Oftentimes, it’s not what we say but what we do that makes the biggest difference. And that is particularly true in the case of a New Jersey Congressman who learned that last week. It’s been hard to get our minds to file away the images of what happened at the Capitol last Wednesday. The hatred, the mayhem, the arrogance. An entitled mob, proud of their siege. Hours after the building was cleared, another image appeared, of a man: New Jersey Congressman Andy Kim, picking up the debris the rioters left in their wake.

REP. ANDY KIM: When I was walking back to the house chamber, I went through the rotunda. And I stood there in the center of the rotunda, and I looked around. And my heart broke. I was just devastated by what I saw. The rotunda is this center of the building. In many ways, it’s the center of our democracy. And it was just littered with garbage and debris, cigarette butts put out on statues and thrown on the floor. Body armor and all sorts of refuge, scattered glass, wood fragments from furniture that was smashed. It was horrendous.

HARRY SMITH: Congressman Kim found garbage bags, and for several hours, picked up trash.

ANDY KIM: I didn’t want the sunrise over the next morning on a broken congress and a Capitol that was left in that type of condition. After I finished with the rotunda, I went to some of the other rooms. Walked all over the Capitol and tried to do as much as I could to get that building into the place that it deserves to be.

HARRY SMITH: In the work, there was, no doubt, catharsis, but also a realization.

ANDY KIM: So, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it just means to be a caretaker of our democracy. And I think that that starts by just being a caretaker for our Capitol, for being a caretaker to our institutions, and showing them the respect that they demand. And I think that that was an important moment for me, as I’m literally picking up the pieces that are remaining after this riotous insurrection. I think, perhaps, that is why the images resonated with so many people around the country.

HARRY SMITH: He rushed home Friday evening to be with his family. After he tucked young sons Austin and August into bed, he answered a call. On the phone, a stranger in tears, who was moved by the photograph of his simple act.

ANDY KIM: For him, it was just so important to see that leadership isn’t just about those that can yell the loudest on the house floor, but about our actions. Even quiet actions can be the ones that, somehow, sometimes, make the strongest arguments and the strongest points.

HARRY SMITH: Congressman Kim told us he doesn’t feel like he deserves the attention he’s been getting from this photo, but he says if there’s anything he can do to help the country heal and move forward, he sure wants to do it. Guys?

ANDY KIM: Thank you, Harry.