For months, a House committee has been investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"I am hoping that people tune in to hear the facts we have got to preserve our democracy,” said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas.
“It was organized. It wasn't accidental. It wasn't spontaneous,” said Congressman Colin Allred, D-Dallas.
It is a day viewed differently by lawmakers.
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“What happened was not good, OK? But it was not an attack on anybody. It was kind of a group of people that got a little out of hand,” said Rep. Roger Williams, R-Fort Worth.
“I firmly believe it was a riot. It was an unlawful riot, but it was not an insurrection,” said Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Rockwall.
The special committee investigating Jan. 6 views it much differently. After interviews with about 1000 witnesses, they will begin laying out their case that this was a coordinated attempt to overturn the 2020 election and stop the transfer of power from former President Trump to President Joe Biden, according to a committee aide.
“I think the committee is going to lay out what happened on January sixth, why it still matters to our country going forward, how close we came and how coordinated and organized the effort was to really try and overthrow the result of the last presidential election” added Congressman Allred.
Many Republicans call this panel partisan and political. There are seven Democrats and two Republicans on the committee. Some Republicans say that Democrats don't want to focus on issues like inflation, gas prices and the border.
“There are about 700 individual cases in the courts right now, being adjudicated. Some have already been completed and there’s others pending. That is the best way to fetter our what had happened on January sixth,” added Fallon.
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There are five more hearings expected this month, and the chairman of the panel, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, says they are aiming to publish the report by this fall.
