Senate Democratic Leader on the One Year Anniversary of the Capitol Insurrection
Contact Name: Marina Altschiller
Phone: (603) 271-3375
CONCORD – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy (D-Manchester) released the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the Capitol Insurrection:
“One year ago, the country watched in despair as an armed and violent mob stormed through the doors, broke open the windows, and scaled up the walls of our Capitol. We feared for the safety of those Capitol guards sworn to protect the home of our democracy. We anxiously waited for updates on the safety of our federal delegation and their staff as elected officials were evacuated from the building.
For a year, many of us have shared in a collective grief. We have mourned for Officer Brian Sicknick who passed away the day after he was beaten by rioters. We grieve for U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood, D.C. Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, Officer Kyle DeFreytag, and Officer Gunther Hashida, all of whom were among the responders to the attack, and all of whom died by suicide in the days and weeks afterward.
There is a hope that when a nation faces a great tragedy that in our grief, we will be united. That we will look at the broken pieces of our democracy and ask ourselves what we can do, together, to ensure these kinds of tragedies do not happen again. What can we do, to protect those sworn to protect the fundamental basis of our country? What can we do, to reunite a fractured nation?
There is no denying that today, political divides among Americans run deep. A fervent distrust of government, a denial of the intent of those who stormed the heart of our nation, and a global pandemic have broken us. In so many ways, we have been broken. But we are also hopeful that this year, the New Hampshire legislature will lead by example and conduct the people’s work with the sanctity and respect it deserves. We stand ready to show the nation what it means to work with integrity, led by a shared commitment to the preservation of our democracy.”
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