Friend,

One year ago today, on my fourth day in Congress, our nation’s Capitol Building was attacked by violent insurrectionists who refused to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election.

On that day, I spent hours sheltering in an undisclosed location, having been told to remove any identifying items that would mark me as a member of Congress. I will never shake the memory of being with my new colleagues in the House Chamber with no idea of what was going to happen next. As I hid, scared for my life under the seats in the House Gallery, and climbing over handrails and seats with a gas mask on to escape the mob, I knew that the most important thing I could do was share the truth of what happened and hold anyone accountable who committed, incited, or encouraged those acts of violence.

​​I’ve spent my career working on conflict and political violence at the United Nations and the State Department. I’ve worked on post-coup transitions and responses to electoral violence and violent extremism in places like Fiji, Mali, Nigeria, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The lessons from around the world are clear: The response to political violence must always be accountability. That is why I am still committed to holding accountable the people responsible for this attack.

In the year since the January 6th insurrection, many have crafted a narrative that this violence was the end of a tumultuous time in our nation. I believe that it was the beginning — and no one can scare me enough to keep me from coming back to do the work to preserve and defend our democracy.

I am endlessly grateful to the law enforcement officers who kept my colleagues and me safe that day, and for the solidarity amongst my colleagues that emerged from the attacks. Our “Gallery Group” shows the best of what Congress can be and helped me process the trauma we went through. Whether you experienced the violence firsthand or watched it on TV, we all experienced trauma that day, and I hope you are seeking out the help and care that you need to process that.

I am proud to work every day to restore trust in our democracy and prove that it can deliver on the biggest challenges facing us, and I am so grateful for your support.

Thank you,
Sara