Senate Holds First Hearing on U.S. Capitol Insurrection

(KNSI) – The spotlight is on the massive security failures during the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol as two Senate committees called a joint hearing.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the attack a deadly assault on democracy.

“When an angry, violent mob staged an insurrection on January 6th, it not just an attack on the building. It was an attack on our republic itself.”

She said that the mob desecrated the Capitol.

Capitol Police were quickly overwhelmed as people stormed the building, and Klobuchar said it was a “life or death situation” for the law enforcement officers at the scene. She adds that lawmakers want to know why it took so long to summon National Guard troops to the Capitol, “both because of decisions made in the Capitol complex, but also by others in the federal government.”

Former President Donald Trump held a massive rally near the White House before the Capitol attack and urged supporters to march to Capitol Hill to cheer on lawmakers protesting the election results.

In a speech at the rally, “We are going to fight like hell,” and if you don’t [fight like hell], “You’re not going to have a country anymore.”

Trump was impeached by the Senate for inciting an insurrection, pointing to that phrase, saying his followers took that to mean storm the Capitol and stop the certification process. His defense attorneys refute that, saying he told supporters to march to the Capitol building to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” saying that was not a call to violence.

The certification process was interrupted by the riot but was ultimately completed.