In early July, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation to create a committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. House Resolution 503 passed the House, with most Democrats voting for the resolution and most Republicans voting against it. The committee was approved by a 222-190 vote. In Arizona, Democrats Tom O’Halleran, Ann Kirkpatrick, Raul Grijalva, Ruben Gallego, and Greg Stanton all voted yes to the resolution. Republicans Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, David Schweikert, and Debbie Lesko all voted against it.
This is the first hearing to investigate the attack by pro-Trump rioters who attempted to stop the certification of the presidential election, which Donald Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. As hearings began today for the January 6th investigation, four police officers testified about what they experienced during the riot. According to NPR, Lawmakers on the panel praised the officers’ heroism and criticized leaders who have denied the events of that day.
Ruben Gallego stated on Twitter, “Thank you to the law enforcement officers for their powerful testimony today about what they experienced when our democracy was violently attacked. Only by telling the truth can we have accountability & justice for #January6th – and prevent it from ever happening again.”
Debbie Lesko tweeted, “Today, Speaker Pelosi kicked off her partisan circus. It’s a sad state of affairs when Congress has an opportunity to provide the American people with answers, but the authoritarian House Speaker has to put her partisan narrative over pursuing the facts.”
Raul Grijalva posted on Twitter, “There are not enough words to thank Sergeant Gonell and the USCP and MPD officers who heroically defended the Capitol against violent insurrectionists. This investigation is about ensuring that events like those of #January6th never happen again.”
