On Jan. 6, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory. In the wake of this attack, five people were left dead, including one capitol police officer, Brian Sicknick. Fifteen other police officers were taken to the hospital for injuries obtained during the attack. For the first time since the Civil War, there was not a peaceful transition of power from one Presidential administration to the next. 

This day will undoubtedly be a stain on American history, and although initially members of both political parties strongly condemned the attack, a new narrative has emerged over time. Rep. Andrew Clyne (R-GA) compared the attack to a simple “tourist visit,” although he himself is pictured helping Secret Service members and capitol police officers barricade the door into the House of Representatives during the chaos. Kevin McCarthy, House minority leader, initially blamed President Donald Trump in a speech on the House floor after the attack, but later walked back these remarks, arguing that at the time he “did not have the information [he] has today.” 

One D.C. Metropolitan police officer, Michael Fanone was dragged down the steps of the Capitol where he was shot with a stun gun multiple times and beaten, leaving him unconscious. While testifying in front of the Congressional Committee investigating the attack, Fanone decried those who have created a new narrative on the events of that day. “The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful…truly nothing has prepared me to address those elected members of our government who continue to deny the events of that day. And in doing so betray their oath of office,” Fanone said.

Another police officer, Harry Dunn, who testified recalled what was said to him after telling these insurrectionists that he voted for President Joe Biden: “You hear that guys? This n***** voted for Joe Biden.” “No one had ever, ever called me a n***** while wearing the uniform of a Capitol Police officer,” Dunn said.

It is easy for Republicans to ignore what happened that day because it is politically convenient. Although President Donald Trump was decisively defeated in the 2020 election, he still has a stranglehold on the party. In response to the attack, an independent commission was proposed by some Democrats and moderate Republicans in the House. This commission would have been made up of unelected officials, selected by both members of both parties and would investigate exactly what led up to the attack. Republicans in the Senate rallied to block the bill because they claimed it was “redundant” due to ongoing criminal investigations. In reality, they were terrified of the possible political fallout they would face.

Those elected to Congress take an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Nine months later and only a handful of Republicans can honestly say that they have upheld their oath. The rest have decided that their political well being outweighs their obligation to protect the American people and our Constitution.