Our home was under attack: Journalists reflect on Jan 6 Capitol storming

January 6 attacks‘ one-year anniversary on the United States Capitol is just around the corner and journalists present in Washington DC– who witnessed the insurrection first hand– have been opening up about the incident. 

Hunter Walker, who is associated with Rolling Stone, described January 6 as the day when his “home was under attack”.

Also Read: A year after Capitol riots, majority in US believes American democracy ‘is threatened’: Polls

Walker says that people of the United States are not fully aware of how things unfolded on the day when the Capitol complex was stormed by a huge number of supporters of former President Donald Trump. 

He added that due to the pandemic being in full swing at that time, many journalists were working from home at the time, which resulted in the translucency of the events.

“This was our city. This was our home that was under attack,” Walker said.

“There is a bit of an informal network of reporters who have been through it that day, and are still coping with that, who are leaning on each other and talking to each other”, Walker said, according to reports from CNN.

Grace Segers, New Republic’s staff writer said in a statement, “We are all kind of feeling the same thing right now, this sort of disbelief that already a year has gone by and here we are.”

Also Read: January 6 committee examining whether it can subpoena Congressmen: Chairman

Multiple journalists have also opened up about the impact of the riots on their mental health. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been one of the top struggles faced by those at ground zero.

According to reports from New York Times, a total of five deaths have been linked to the storming of the United States Capitol. These included Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a law enforcement officer in the Capitol complex, and Capitol Police force Brian Sicknick,  who was overpowered and beaten by rioters.