On January 6, 2021, while Congress was counting the Electoral College votes from the 2020 election, thousands of violent insurrectionists breached the barriers surrounding the US Capitol, broke into the very seat of our democracy, and disrupted the peaceful transfer of power.
Protect Democracy believes a thorough and transparent effort by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is absolutely necessary to determine what led to the attack, who bears responsibility, and how to prevent its recurrence. January 6 was the culmination of various troubling factors undermining our democracy—from white supremacists violent extremism to coordinated election subversion—and a comprehensive fact-finding and truth-telling exercise is a critical prerequisite to addressing them. That is why, well before the announcement of the Select Committee, we led a cross-partisan coalition of advocacy organizations calling for Congress to launch an official investigation into the events of January 6, 2021, and organized a letter from 140 former senior national security leaders from both parties who served in presidential administrations and in Congress urging an independent January 6th Commission.
Like the 9/11 Commission before it, the January 6 investigation must ensure that the unprecedented attack on our democracy is thoroughly investigated, that the American people are provided with a full picture of events and their causes, and that lawmakers are equipped with nonpartisan recommendations. Protect Democracy is committed to supporting a comprehensive inquiry and critical reforms to prevent future attacks.