Senator Kim Demands We Find the Courage to Heal Our Country, Warns that Our Democracy is More Fragile than during the January 6 Insurrection Five Years Ago

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Kim delivered remarks on the five-year anniversary of the January 6^th insurrection when rioters attacked the sacred ground of the U.S. Capitol. Tonight, on the same Senate Floor breached during the attack, Senator Kim honored the Capitol Police Officers who served and were brutally attacked that day and demanded leaders to show courage to heal the divides making our democracy even more fragile than it was 5 years ago. The Senator who was just days into his second term as a Member of Congress on January 6, 2021, warned about the dangers of a purposeful amnesia about the day that is damaging our democracy.

The Senator reflected on how he’s been unable to share the full truth of the day with both of his two young boys, sharing: “I think I was waiting for some moment when I could say with assurance that things are better now. That I could say a horrible thing happened in the past but we are beyond that now and things aren’t going to be bad again. But that day hasn’t come.”

Watch Senator Kim’s Full Remarks

In his remarks, Senator Kim also condemned Republican leadership for failing to hang the plague congressionally mandated to be displayed in honor of the extraordinary individuals who defended the building and democracy that day.

You can read the speech as prepared HERE.

Highlights of the speech as prepared include:

“To defile and disgrace this building is to defile and disgrace the Constitution. It should be the easiest thing for all of us, across the political spectrum, to say that this building is sacred ground.”

“This purposeful amnesia, 5 years out, is so much more damaging to our democracy than the shattered windows. This is the storm after the storm.”

“In 2022, the year after the January 6th attack, Congress passed a law that mandated a plaque be placed on the western front of the Capitol to allow visitors to this building to remember. The plaque, itself is pretty simple – an image of the Capitol with a few lines of text: “On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021. Their heroism will never be forgotten.”

“Mr. President, we should be able to walk out of this Chamber today and view that plaque.”

“Five years after the events it was meant to commemorate... That plaque is missing. It is absent at the direction of Speaker Johnson. As of last night, it’s not just absent, it is being explicitly denied because of Speaker Johnson, who is still refusing to do the simple thing – the right thing – and displaying it for the American people to see. That absence and denial is part of a broader effort by Speaker Johnson, President Trump, and so many others to prevent us from remembering – to encourage us to forget.”

“President Trump called that day a “day of love”. He called the rioters “patriots” and he pardoned more than 1,500 rioters on his first day in office last year – signing an executive order directing the Department of Justice to drop pending cases against those suspected of taking part in this attack. But we know better. We know the truth.”

“I haven’t found the words yet to fully tell my boys what happened 5 years ago...I’ve avoided it for 5 years because I didn't want to confront the full implications. I think I was waiting for some moment when I could say with assurance that things are better now. That I could say a horrible thing happened in the past but we are beyond that now and things aren’t going to be bad again.”

“When I look at today compared to 5 years ago, yes our Capitol is secure. Yes, our own security here is more assured. But I can’t say that about our country. I believe we are even more divided now than we were 5 years ago. I believe our democracy is even more fragile than it was 5 years ago. The future threats to our democracy may not come in the form of rioters storming our halls. But that doesn’t mean the threats aren’t here.”

“Mr. President, what I hope to be able to tell my boys is that we can heal this country.  I hope that we can tell them that we are taking steps to mend the wounds of that day and of the days since that have driven us further apart as Americans.  That work can start right here – right now.  I stand ready to heal this country – ready to make it okay.”