U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) says she vividly remembers exiting the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 as an angry mob supporting President Donald Trump sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
"It was a surreal day for me," Smith told WCCO Radio's Vineeta Sawkar during the WCCO Radio Morning News on Thursday. "I have very vivid memories of running out of the capitol and seeing capitol police officers being sprayed with pepper spray by the rioters."
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Prior to Smith's appearance on WCCO Radio, Minnesota Republican Party Chairman David Hann recounted the day.
"I don't remember where I was," Hann said. "I was in Minnesota, but I have no idea where I was. I imagine I was working, but I don't have any specific recollections from one year ago."
When it comes to the one year anniversary of the riot at the U.S. Capitol, Hann told Sawkar he's concerned about the rhetoric being used.
"To call a riot and insurrection our a coup is a little extreme," he said. "I think it's bad enough there was a riot. There were some people who behaved badly and a number of them have been arrested. An insurrection is a crime and it's in the U.S. code. No one has been charged with that."
Hann later went on to say that Democrats are using January 6 for political gain.
"They're politicizing it because the record of President Biden is so dismal and they've implemented policies that have been very damaging to this country."
Sen. Smith said the attempt to overturn an election should be above politics.
"This goes to show, I think, how so many in the Republican party struggle to deal with what happened on January 6," Smith said. "It's important for Hann to realize that January 6 was the most deadly and violent day for law enforcement in this country since September 11, 2001. Seeing and talking about that is not political, it's reality."