A year after attack, Floridians in Congress reflect on ‘fragile’ democracy, fallout

Author: Editors Desk Source: Miami Herald

January 6, 2022 at 09:25

Rioters try to enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) JOHN MINCHILLO AP

A year after the attack, Deutch and other congressional Democrats say the work to safeguard democracy remains largely unfinished as President Joe Biden and lawmakers prepare to commemorate the anniversary of the attack Thursday.

WASHINGTON One year after rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol in a violent attempt to overturn the 2020 election, Florida Democrats are reflecting on the fragility of democracy and the unfinished fight for accountability. Their Republican colleagues kept their focus on gaps in Capitol security for the somber anniversary rather than the motivations behind the unprecedented attack. Rep. Ted Deutch, a South Florida Democrat, said he was on his way to lunch when he received the emergency alert from Capitol Police that rioters had breached the Capitol. He ran to his office where he and staff hid in the dark and watched the chaos unfold on a muted iPad. “Every time there was a noise outside the office I wondered if they were looking for members. And frankly as a Jewish member of Congress one of the most pathetic thoughts of that day, knowing there was this white supremacist element, I was grateful for being in a new office, having not yet put up a mezuzah,” Deutch told the Miami Herald.

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