Virginia Democrat says January 6 should still serve as a warning sign

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia lawmakers are reacting to the fifth anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

Former Democratic Congresswoman Elaine Luria, who served on the committee that investigated the attack, said Americans shouldn’t forget what happened on Jan. 6. 

“Think about what we saw on January 6th, undeniable violence at the Capitol, the Vice President being evacuated to safety by the Secret Service, senators running through the hallways to escape the mob, law enforcement valiantly defending the Capitol against brutal attack,” Luria told lawmakers at a hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Luria said on Jan. 6, instead of protecting the Capitol like he was obligated to do, President Trump didn’t expedite the use of the D.C. National Guard.

“We’ll never know how many law enforcement officers might have been spared their brutal injuries or how many lives might have been saved if the commander in chief done his duty in the moment it mattered most," Luria said.

President Trump continues to blame the Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the security failures on Jan. 6. Meanwhile, Luria says Trump’s failure to call in the National Guard, along with other failures on Jan. 6, are examples of Trump putting himself before the Constitution and American democratic values. 

“This trend has only accelerated since his explicit display of dereliction of duty on January 6th and should stand as a warning to all Americans that living in a free democracy is not self-executing, it depends on leaders and citizens to uphold our values,” Luria said. 

8News reached out to the offices of all five Republican members of Virginia’s congressional delegation, as well as Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office, to ask them about the Jan. 6 anniversary. Only Kiggans’ office got back to 8News, but they declined to comment.