Sen. Coons' statement on the anniversary of January 6, 2021: "Now, we must choose to heal'

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol:

Watch the full video statement here.

"One year ago today, what should have been a straightforward celebration of American governance was disrupted as an angry mob, egged on by President Trump, violently sought to stop the certification of a free and fair election at the seat of our national government. I'm grateful for the law enforcement officers, the Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police, the National Guard, and others who protected all of us who work and serve in our Capitol; the five officers who lost their lives as a result of that day and their families remain in my prayers today, a year later. These officers did not come to work that day as Republicans or Democrats, but simply as people responsible for working to keep us all safe. They did their jobs so that later that night, the entire Senate could reconvene to do ours and certify the results of the election.

"Our Capitol is the best-known symbol of our democracy around the world. Over the past year, I've heard firsthand in a dozen countries how the storming of our Capitol on January Sixth made foreign leaders doubt the durability of our democracy. Our adversaries have trumpeted January Sixth a humiliating sign of weakness and disarray; our allies have seen it as a troubling sign of the fraying of our society and our democratic system. Democracy is under threat in dozens of nations around the world today. These are nations that often look to us as a model, but we cannot lead the free world unless we strengthen the rule of law and access to the ballot box here at home.

"We should mark this anniversary by taking decisive steps to strengthen and to heal our own democracy. That means making progress to secure our elections, ensuring that the state and local election officials on both sides of the aisle who did their jobs last winter counting the people's votes continue to do so in the future, and guaranteeing that those votes can be cast freely and safely. Congress should also invest in civics education and national service programs that can inspire the next generation of Americans to better know our system and each other across our political differences. Too often in recent years, we have chosen division. Now, we must choose to heal and strengthen our democracy, and lay the groundwork for future generations to sustain our trajectory along that most important path."

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