Five Years On, Democrats May Be Losing the Fight Over January 6

“You should be put down like a dog, diseased fucking animal you are,” one man says to a police officer, according to video captured by a HuffPost reporter. Another man hurls slurs, calling the officers “fucking r-tards,” “f-ggots,” and the N-word. In another video, the first man tells an officer, “The only solution for animals like you is public execution.”

That man is Edward Jacob Lang, a January 6 rioter who was charged with beating cops with a baseball bat. Having received a pardon from President Donald Trump before he stood trial, Lang is now running for Senate as a Republican. He’s one of a few dozen rioters who descended on Washington this week for the five-year anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol, walking free thanks to sweeping clemency from the president.

“Your day will come and I will be there for it,” Lang told an officer at one point, according to video footage. “Look left and right when you cross the street, motherfucker.”

Nearby, in a packed room in the basement of the Capitol Building, another January 6 rioter sat before a panel of House Democrats convened to mark the grim anniversary of the attack.

“I’m a mother and a grandmother and a cancer survivor and a retired addiction counselor. I am also a convicted criminal for what I did on January the 6th, 2021.” So began the testimony of Pam Hemphill, a woman known as MAGA Granny when she joined the mob that stormed the Capitol five years ago.

The hearing was convened as part of an effort to push back on Trump’s attempts to rewrite the history of the attack. Hemphill spoke alongside former Capitol police officer Winston Pingeon, who described being punched in the face, pepper sprayed, and called a traitor by the rioters. There was a former prosecutor who worked on the cases against the rioters—more than 600 of whom were charged with assaulting or obstructing police officers—and resigned from the Justice Department after Trump offered clemency to those charged over the attack. That included Hemphill, who publicly rejected Trump’s pardon, testifying that she did not deserve to evade justice.

“I had fallen for the president’s lies, just like many of his supporters,” Hemphill said. She became emotional and had to pause as she described the start of the riot. “The police officers were the heroes. They protected the Capitol and everyone inside the Capitol. And even people like me. I was trampled on by the rioters. And if it weren’t for the Capitol Police helping me that day, I might have died.”

She addressed Pingeon directly. “I want the Capitol Police to know how truly grateful I am to them and how deeply sorry I am,” she said, her voice quavering. “I can’t believe people are still disrespecting you and trying to lie about January the 6th.” In the room, Congressman Steve Cohen dabbed tears from his eyes.