Cleaning up after Jan. 6 : How an ‘act of service’ became forever memorialized

Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) reflects on viral photo of him cleaning the Rotunda after violent Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, one year later.

1 00:00:01,020 –> 00:00:03,030 >> We’re going to walk down and I’ll be there with you. 2 00:00:03,480 –> 00:00:09,030 >> To the capital. We will stop. 3 00:00:09,030 –> 00:00:14,340 The steel. What 4 00:00:14,340 –> 00:00:19,950 is happening. How did we get here. How did things get so bad. In this country 5 00:00:19,950 –> 00:00:24,930 . Broken shards of glass still on the ground. So I. 6 00:00:25,710 –> 00:00:27,700 >> Started cleaning up in the rotunda. 7 00:00:27,750 –> 00:00:32,850 >> Congressman Kim was photographed on his hands and knees helping clean up the damage left behind. 8 00:00:32,910 –> 00:00:38,100 >> Many of them had no idea who I was. They had no idea if I was a Democrat or Republican you know. They had no 9 00:00:38,100 –> 00:00:43,290 idea actually if I was a congressman or just someone there cleaning. But I think it was just the 10 00:00:43,290 –> 00:00:49,560 action of service that was impactful to those who struggled Tarif. 11 00:00:50,040 –> 00:00:52,160 >> From our responsibility. 12 00:00:52,170 –> 00:00:57,530 >> You had that moment on the House floor when we reconvene. Well 13 00:00:57,530 –> 00:01:03,450 I’ll remember for the rest of my life it was the most powerful experience 14 00:01:03,450 –> 00:01:08,820 and solemn experience that I’ve ever had in any job. You could see. People still 15 00:01:08,820 –> 00:01:14,010 shaken in a lot of people just trying to give each other hugs. And then 16 00:01:14,010 –> 00:01:19,200 I remember seeing know feeling this switch all all sudden you know after those first couple of speeches then we 17 00:01:19,200 –> 00:01:22,180 got back to the work of the Electoral College. 18 00:01:22,200 –> 00:01:27,810 >> Some of the people who breach the Capitol today they were masquerading as Trump supporters. And in fact 19 00:01:27,810 –> 00:01:31,630 were members of the violent terrorist group and TFA. 20 00:01:31,710 –> 00:01:37,860 >> How can you do this. How can you give that same speech. How can you act like nothing happened. 21 00:01:37,860 –> 00:01:43,410 >> What does it say to the nearly half the country that believes this election was rigged. 22 00:01:43,410 –> 00:01:48,750 If we vote not even to consider the claims that’s want to just start 23 00:01:48,750 –> 00:01:54,270 a hippie you know what. I’m not sure that this is going to be that kind of a uniting 24 00:01:54,270 –> 00:01:57,300 moment for the country that I had hoped that it would at least be. 25 00:01:58,160 –> 00:02:04,010 >> To drive home. I 95 that the Jersey was a tough one I actually was feeling very emotional. 26 00:02:04,010 –> 00:02:09,240 I drove immediately back to my kids day care. I’ve struggled even a year out of 27 00:02:09,240 –> 00:02:13,470 struggle to. Fully explain to them what happened that day. 28 00:02:19,820 –> 00:02:26,220 >> And I told them that I’m then I’m safe then I’m OK. But 29 00:02:26,220 –> 00:02:32,370 that there were people that tried to. Hurt the Capitol building. You 30 00:02:32,370 –> 00:02:37,440 know in some ways I think the Smithsonian could play a role in helping me explain to the kids what happened. 31 00:02:37,850 –> 00:02:43,170 >> What was really challenging about January 6th was to see to some 32 00:02:43,170 –> 00:02:49,050 of the material we gathered the stop to steal off with their heads material culture you 33 00:02:49,050 –> 00:02:54,360 know that which we say to pass on to the next generation enables us 34 00:02:54,360 –> 00:03:00,100 to piece together a set of evidence to help if not ourselves 35 00:03:00,100 –> 00:03:05,640 then it was her children and our grandchildren make some sense of some of 36 00:03:05,640 –> 00:03:11,050 these times I’ll be honest when they asked me for the Sue I didn’t really know what to think. 37 00:03:11,160 –> 00:03:16,730 >> The suit itself is just a blue suit I got from J. Crew over the holidays for 38 00:03:16,730 –> 00:03:22,140 50 percent half. It was just something that I had that I just got off the rack. The fact that then that 39 00:03:22,140 –> 00:03:28,230 suit ended up so you know clothing a very young new representatives. 40 00:03:29,230 –> 00:03:34,590 >> His active humanity and helping clean up after the damage and 41 00:03:34,590 –> 00:03:39,810 the destruction the violence that was done spoke to us literally thousands of 42 00:03:39,810 –> 00:03:41,090 these just would come in. 43 00:03:41,100 –> 00:03:46,740 >> It was not anything I had planned in terms of cleaning the rotunda. It 44 00:03:46,740 –> 00:03:51,990 was just a very instinctual decision at that moment. And I wanted to just be productive I 45 00:03:51,990 –> 00:03:57,150 wanted to be helpful. I hope I see in that suit a simple act of 46 00:03:57,150 –> 00:04:02,420 humility and service. I actually think that. That what happened on 47 00:04:02,420 –> 00:04:07,610 January 6 has now been weaponized in terms of this disinformation and it’s 48 00:04:07,610 –> 00:04:10,310 actually being used to pull us further apart. 49 00:04:11,540 –> 00:04:16,970 >> And I find that to be so sad. That we like what is it going to take to actually get 50 00:04:16,970 –> 00:04:18,880 us to come together.

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