Thompson issues warning three years after Capitol riot: 'Our country is still in peril'

The former chair of the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol issued a warning about the state of the country on the third anniversary of the riot.

“In the three years since the deadly January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, many of us have worked tirelessly to uncover and guard against the threats to American democracy that interrupted the peaceful transfer of power on that horrific day,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a Saturday press release. “However, our country is still in peril, and there is much more we must do to protect it.”

“Today, I reflect on the courage and sacrifices of law enforcement officers and other personnel who protect and preserve the Capitol,” Thompson continued. “They held the line when American democracy was under threat — and some sadly lost their lives.”

In his first campaign speech of the year on Friday, President Biden highlighted the Jan. 6 attack in an attempt to cement a point about former President Trump and other Republicans espousing a kind of extremism that was seen by the world on that day.

“Democracy is on the ballot. Your freedom is on the ballot,” Biden said in the speech, delivered near Valley Forge, Pa.

Thompson’s fellow Jan. 6 committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) praised the president’s speech in an interview on MSNBC Friday.

“Well, it was a remarkable speech which spoke directly to the moment and it was delivered with amazing passion and conviction and integrity,” Raskin said. “And it was the kind of speech, I think, that will galvanize and mobilize millions and millions of people across the country to get in this fight.”