Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) condemned Republicans during a press briefing outside of the Capitol.
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00:00Thank you very much, Mr. Swalwell. I'll join our colleagues in thanking you for bringing us together for this very important initiative.
00:10You have, as you have mentioned, spent a good deal of time with the police officers.
00:18You have been a real champion in keeping all of this going and, again, bringing us together.
00:23And as Mary Kay said, this isn't about a plaque. It's about a decision.
00:30That was made to ignore the recognition that Congress, in 2022, voted in a bipartisan way.
00:40The recognition to our police officers, Officer Hodges, Sergeant Gunnell, thank you.
00:47Thank you and your colleagues for what you did that day.
00:51I just want to back up for a moment to say what happened that day.
00:55That day, at this Capitol, we had an assault on the Constitution of the United States, an assault on the Congress of the United States, and an assault on the Capitol of the United States.
01:10It was one that came with such fierce and defecation, if I just may say how awful it was, with disrespect for the workers of the Capitol who keep it so lovely for visitors and safe.
01:28And then, at the instigation of the President of the United States, they caused an insurrection right here in the Capitol.
01:39And they are trying to rewrite history, a different narrative than what happened.
01:46Why the Constitution?
01:47Because that was the day we were, by law, supposed to, and we did, accept the numbers from the...
01:57The...
01:58The...
01:59The...
02:00The...
02:01The...
02:02The...
02:03The...
02:04Yeah.
02:05The Electoral College.
02:06The Electoral College.
02:07The Electoral College.
02:08It's just, it was so emotional for us.
02:10Because this is what our responsibility was, to accept those numbers from the Electoral College.
02:16They did everything in their power, tried to steal the boxes and all the rest.
02:20It was a hopeless thing for them.
02:22But that was why they came that day.
02:24It wasn't just any day.
02:26It was Electoral College day.
02:28Okay.
02:29So we have that.
02:31The Constitution said that they came that day.
02:34The Congress of the United States was charged to do that.
02:40And this was an assault to make sure we couldn't do that.
02:44And the Capitol, the Capitol, this dome built by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, during the Civil War,
02:53people said, Mr. President, we need the steel and the Pearson power to fight the war.
02:58He said, no, we must show the world we are resilient.
03:01And it continued the construction of this dome.
03:04To see that dome besmirched by people coming in with flags from, I don't know, Nazi flags, any kind of flag that was counter to what we believe in as our country.
03:16And an insult to Abraham Lincoln in addition, in addition to the Congress, the Constitution, and our people who are here.
03:27So let's not let them rewrite history.
03:30They're doing this as a counter-narrative to the truth.
03:35Because they can't face the truth.
03:38And the truth is they did something very wrong, unpatriotic, illegal, unconstitutional that day.
03:47So you would think they would welcome the opportunity to say the people who saved our lives should be recognized.
03:55We were able, of course, to do the Congressional gold medal for the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police, and the law enforcement that saved our lives that day.
04:05We were also able to pass the legislation in the Democratic majority, but in a bipartisan way, for this plaque so that everyone who came to the Capitol would see that recognition.
04:18But what you see now is an attitude of fear.
04:22They're afraid of the president.
04:24Why would they be afraid of a plaque?
04:26They're afraid of the president.
04:28They're afraid of the free press and how this is reported.
04:31They're trying to dilute the story of what happened that day.
04:35They're undermining the principles of democracy as they refused to put up this plaque.
04:42But we will continue until it is there, and it won't be long.
04:46It won't be long.
04:47Now, I associate myself with everything that our colleagues have said.
04:52I get emotional about the Electoral College because we had staff from the Senate side carrying the mahogany boxes over,
05:00and they were chasing them down to get the mahogany boxes.
05:03It was a horrible thing.
05:05So don't let anybody be misled because of their interference with freedom of the press and the threats they're making to people who don't vote with them on this.
05:17This was an insurrection incited by the president of the United States, and its effect is being carried out by not recognizing the role of those who protected us that day.
05:28And I'm just very honored to be here with my colleagues, but especially to be here with our police officers.
05:34In this police week, you would think that they would, with pride, carry this into the Capitol.
05:40Well, the day is early.
05:41Thank you again, Eric Swalwell, for bringing us together.
05:44Thank you, my colleagues, for sharing your personal experiences that day.
05:48But we will not let them deny the truth and the fact of what happened that day.
05:55To do so would be to undermine the vision of our founders, the sacrifice of the people who were there to protect us,
06:05and the aspirations of those who visit the Capitol.
06:08I yield back.