Nancy Pelosi likens Capitol riots to 9/11 attacks, slams Republicans for rejecting probe

House Speaker and a staunch Donald Trump critic Nancy Pelosi, on Friday, likened the January 6 Capitol Rights to the horrendous 9/11 terror attacks, saying one had been an “assault on Democracy from within” while other from outside. Speaking at London’s Chatham House Seminar, the top Democrat blamed the former American President for “galvanising” support for the attack while also slamming Republicans for hindering the investigation into the riots later. While it is an unsaid rule that domestic political disputes should end at American water’s edge, Pelosi, standing across the Atlantic,  highlighted the collapse of bipartisanship in the US and its implications on international ties. 

The January 6 demonstration, she said, “was an assault on Congress, constitution and our democracy. How we deal with it is really the measure of the strength of our democracy.” Furthermore, challenging GOP members for rejecting the Congressional commission into the Capitol attack, she asked “Why do they reject finding the truth of what happened in January? Is it because they had some sympathy for the cause?” Furthermore, Pelosi lambasted Trump, pointing out that while he did not directly trigger the riot, he did “galvanise” the attack through social media.

In the British capital, Pelosi also slammed the GOP, accusing them of being hijacked by a cult that believed in neither science nor government, making it hard for America to be governed. “I would say to my Republican friends,” she started saying that the Grand Old Party has made “tremendous contributions” to the US since its foundation by Lincoln. “Don’t let your party be hijacked by a cult – essentially, that is what is happening,” she said.

“This is not conservative. This is radical rightwing, off the spectrum, anti-governance and if you are anti-governance it is very difficult to govern.If you are in denial about climate change, if you don’t believe the science and data and won’t respond to the data, that is a problem,” Pelosi said. 

US Capitol Riots 

On January 6, thousands of Trump supporters broke barricades outside the Capitol and marched into the building. They were scaling walls using scaffolding and breaking windows to enter the building. Rioters banged on doors inside the building, trying to push through doors, and fought with police. As per reports, by 2 PM, Capitol Police ordered all staff, reporters, and nearby senators into the Senate chamber, sealed off and put on lockdown. Visuals from inside the Capitol show the rioters inside US Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, inside the Congress and Senate Hall, as police officers deployed tear gas inside the building. After the building was secured, at least four people have died, 52 have been arrested and over a dozen police officers have been injured.

Image: AP 

(With inputs from AP)