SPRINGFIELD – On the fourth anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on certifying the 2024 presidential election and ensuring that an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol does not happen again:
“Today, January 6, 2025, Congress will vote to certify the 2024 presidential election in a Joint Session of Congress. Sadly, four years ago, this solemn proceeding was disrupted when a mob of Trump-inspired thugs attacked and trashed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn a free, fair, and valid election.
“The grimmest reality of that day was the resulting deaths of five of our law enforcement officers: Officer Brian Sicknick, Officer Howard Liebengood, Officer Jeffrey Smith, Officer Gunther Hashida, and Officer Kyle DeFreytag—and the injuries of approximately 140 other law enforcement officers, many of whom still pay a price for that day when they stood in defense of the Capitol building and the people inside of it.
“But out of this darkness, I hope that all of us, regardless of our political persuasion, will finally come to an agreement on one thing—that violence has no place in a democracy, and a day like January 6, 2021, must never happen again.”
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