President Biden and VP Harris Decry the Lawlessness and Chaos of Jan. 6, 2021, at the US Capitol

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke this morning at the US Capitol, where a year ago today, on Jan. 6, a mob breached the gates to tried to prevent former Vice President Michael Pence and the US Congress from certifying the results of the November 2020 presidential election.

“On Jan. 6., we all saw what our nation would look like, if the forces who seek to dismantle our democracy are successful,” admonished Vice President Harris. “The lawlessness, the violence, the chaos.”

Remembering what happened, a year ago today, Harris recounted, “I had left, but my thoughts immediately turned, not only to my colleagues, but to my staff who had been forced to seek refuge in our office: converted filing cabinets into barricades.

“What the extremists who roamed these halls targeted, was not only the lives of elected leaders. What they sought to degrade and destroy was not only a building: hallowed as it is.

Harris paid tribute to the Capitol Police, the DC Metro Department, the National Guard and other law enforcement officers “who answered the call that day: including those who later succumbed to wounds: both visible and invisible.”

When President Biden spoke, he called the Capitol, “a sacred place” where “Democracy was attacked.”

Biden sternly spoke about rioters rampaging through the Capitol, where Confederate flags, the flags of the South that fought for slavery in 1861, were waved.

“Even during the Civil War, that never happened,” Biden said. “We saw a mob, kicking in doors, throwing fire extinguishers on police officers, 143 of whom were injured, and setting up gallows to hang the vice president.”

“One officer,” Biden said, “called the fight with the mob, ‘a medieval battle,’ and he was more afraid that day than he was fighting the war in Iraq.”

What we did not see, President Biden said, was a former president who interfered or tried to stop the insurrection in anyway.

“He sat in a dining room in the Oval Office, watched it unfold on television, and did nothing for hours as police were assaulted and lives were at risk [and lost],” said Biden who then launched into many lessons about what is truth, without mentioning any of the violence that people and businesses suffered in the past years at the hands of Democratic causes.

“In life, there is truth, and there are lies conceived and spread for profit and power,” Biden said. “We must be absolutely clear on what is true and what is a lie.

“He can't accept he lost. He refused to accept the results of an election and the will of the American people.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul, today announced that flags on state buildings will be flown at half-staff “in honor of the brave Americans who defended the United States Capitol Building during the attempted insurrection of 2021,” she said.

 Mayor Eric Adams said, “One year ago today we witnessed a terror attack on our Capitol. Let’s call it what it was. 

 “I’ve worn a badge to protect my city. That day still haunts me. Our system demands a shared, foundational belief that our institutions matter, whether you win or lose.”

(Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)