Nancy Pelosi announces events to commemorate US Capitol attack on January 6

US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday announced a series of events to mark the one year anniversary of the shocking attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The events are slated to commence at noon on January 6, 2022, with a prayer and a moment of silence on the House floor scheduled as the first ones. Subsequently, historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham will carry out a conversation on “Historical perspective…to establish and preserve the narrative of January 6th.”

Lawmakers are then scheduled to share their personal accounts of the attack on the Capitol, and the series of events will conclude with a prayer vigil with members of the House and the Senate on the steps of the Capitol.

“These events are intended as an observance of reflection, remembrance and recommitment, in a spirit of unity, patriotism and prayerfulness,” Pelosi told her Democratic colleagues in a letter announcing the events.

Earlier, the White House had announced that it would hold several events to mark the date, but had provided no further details. “January 6 was one of the darkest days in our democracy. It was a day when our nation’s capital was under attack, and I think there’s no question you’ll see us commemorate that day,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki had said then.

January 6, 2021 was indeed a historic day for the US as a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol to disrupt the joint session of Congress that had been assembled to formalize Joe Biden‘s victory in the 2020 US Presidential Election. Understandably, chaos ensued, leading to several deaths among the rioters as police responded to the carnage.

Since then, more than 700 people have been charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol and the House select committee, charged with investigating the incident, has interviewed hundreds of former President Trump’s associates and allies in a bid to confirm the sequence of events and those responsible for inciting the riots.

Also read | White House, Jan. 6 committee agree to shield some documents

Reportedly, the committee is slated to release an initial report on their findings in summer 2022.