NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Two years to the day that a mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to try and stop the certification of the 2020 election, Bronx Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres remembered the "sense of shock and confusion" he felt and said he fears it could happen again.
On 1010 WINS Newsline Friday, the Bronx congressman told Brigitte Quinn he "would not take for granted that history would not repeat itself" as the House of Representatives began its historic 12th round of votes to elect a new House speaker on Friday, as some House Republicans continue to split their support for California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
"I'm concerned that the far right, which perpetrated the insurrection on January 6th, has doubled down on its extremism," the Democrat said. "You know, two years ago we saw the far right threatening to devour our democracy, and today we see the same far right beginning to turn on itself, beginning to devour its own party, the Republican Party, on the House floor."
"I would argue that the ideological forces that incited the insurrection are alive and well and can rear their ugly head anytime," Torres said.
Torres compared the shock he felt during the Capitol insurrection to the reaction he had to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The congressman said he didn’t want to suggest that Jan. 6 was comparable to 9/11, but he said he felt the parallels on a personal level. “I was a New Yorker during 9/11, and I was a member of Congress during January 6th,” he said.
The 34-year-old Bronx native added that his reaction was "strikingly similar" and that "the sense of shock was overwhelming."
At least nine people who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, died during or after the rioting, including a woman who was shot by police and a number of officers who died by suicide in the following days and months.
"Just like on 9/11, how could the United States, the most powerful country in the world, be so easily invaded?" Torres asked. "So easily attacked at the hands of foreign terrorist. On January 6th, I asked myself, how could one of the most heavily guarded places on Earth, the United States Capitol, be so easily invaded at the hands of a violent mob, and so I was in a state of utter shock and disbelief and confusion."
More than 930 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the siege on Jan. 6, 2021, and the tally increases by the week. Hundreds more people remain at large on the second anniversary of the unprecedented assault that was fueled by lies that the 2020 election was stolen.
The nation’s legislative branch is again at a standstill — not from violence this time but because of a tortuous struggle among Republicans over who should lead them, and the House itself, as speaker.
To be sure, a resolution to the immediate crisis may be near as the GOP leadership continues negotiations to appease its hard-right flank, but questions loom about the chamber’s ability to manage even the most essential legislation, such as funding the government and meeting the nation’s debt obligations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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