A year after deadly insurrection, Wisconsin’s congressional delegation remains split along party lines

On the one-year anniversary of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Wisconsin’s congressional delegation remains split along party lines over who was at fault and how the investigation should conclude.

President Joe Biden addressed the nation Thursday, using the anniversary to hold former President Donald Trump accountable. Biden said since the attack, Trump has waged an undemocratic and un-American attack on the legitimacy of the election system.

The six Wisconsinites charged with participating in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last year have faced misdemeanor charges, and so far have received little or no jail time. One, a member of the Wisconsin National Guard, is still with the Guard after he pleaded guilty to participating in the riot.

Protesters violently attempted to disrupt the legal counting of electoral votes in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, to allow Trump, who lost the 2020 election, to retain office. About 140 capitol police officers were beaten and trampled. One year later, more than 700 people have been charged in the riots.

On Thursday, Biden told the country not to only obey laws when it’s convenient.

“You can’t love your country only when you win,” Biden said. “You can’t be patriotic when you embrace and enable lies.”

Here’s how Wisconsin’s congressional delegation has reacted to the anniversary of the insurrection through emailed statements, interviews and social media accounts:

Wisconsin Republicans

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson condemned the violence that occurred at the U.S. Capitol and said he believes the American people deserve a “full and accurate account of what happened.” In a statement Thursday, he said he has investigated and sent 12 oversight letters to accomplish that goal.

To date, he has received limited cooperation to his inquiries, and said he believes there is much more to learn, according to the same statement. Johnson then provided a timeline of when these letters were sent and copies of the letters.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, has not released a statement on the anniversary of the insurrection. He supported efforts to overturn the 2020 election, signing onto a Texas lawsuit that would have thrown out all of Wisconsinites’ votes as well as votes in several other states won by Democrat Joe Biden. In a Jan. 5, 2021 statement, he said he would object to the counting of electoral ballots. On the day of the insurrection, he tweeted that “violence is unacceptable.”

Tiffany voted against Trump’s impeachment and against the creation of an independent commission to investigate the insurrection.

U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, in a tweet, accused Biden of sowing division in his speech Thursday. He also criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for likening the Jan. 6 attacks to Sept. 11 and Pearl Harbor as days that will live in the nation’s history.

As a newly sworn-in member of Congress last January, Fitzgerald tried to prevent Biden’s confirmation by attempting to block Arizona and Pennsylvania’s votes from being counted.

Fitzgerald voted not to impeach former Trump over his role in inciting the insurrection. His explanation at the time was, “The violence I saw firsthand last week is intolerable and unacceptable but … impeachment (is) not the solution,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. He called impeachment “just one more divisive and political act.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Green Bay, has not released a statement on the anniversary of the insurrection. As the insurrection was going on, the former Marine released a video from his office telling his colleagues “this is the cost of countenancing an effort by Congress to overturn the election, and telling thousands of people that there is a legitimate shot at overturning the election today.”

He also made a direct appeal to Trump that day: “We have got to stop this. Mr. President, you have got to stop this. You are the only person who can call this off. Call it off.”

Gallagher voted against Trump’s impeachment and against the creation of an independent commission to investigate the insurrection.

U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, has not released a statement on the anniversary of the insurrection.

In an interview with WPR two days after the insurrection, Grothman said, “The vast majority of people who were there were very law-abiding,” but “a small minority who were up near the Capitol obviously caused a great deal of damage.”

Grothman voted against Trump’s impeachment and against the creation of an independent commission to investigate the insurrection.

Wisconsin Democrats

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin spoke on the Senate floor Thursday, marking what she called a solemn anniversary.

“We must never forget this dark day in our nation’s history. We must never forget the heroic work of the Capitol police, the metropolitan police and the National Guard to protect all of us and this institution and its critical work from that violent mob,” she said. “We must never tolerate such an attack on our democracy and our democratic values.”

Baldwin went on to applaud the work of the bipartisan committee investigating the insurrection, and called for further action to ensure voting rights and election security.

In her speech, Baldwin, who voted to impeach Trump, said lawmakers need to be consistent in conveying the truth of Jan. 6, 2021.

“We must all condemn this insurrection in no uncertain terms, as well as the big lie about the 2020 election that drove the mob to desecrate this hallowed chamber,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said over the last year, the threat to U.S. democracy has only gotten more acute. In an email to WPR, Moore said:

“It is not just gerrymandering and voter suppression, Republicans are trying to expand their power by subverting the will of the American people by installing partisans in place of non-partisan election officials. That’s why it is imperative that Congress advances democratic reforms.

It is my hope that the investigation uncovers the truth, so that we can pursue accountability for every person involved in the attempted insurrection. I have full trust in Chairman Bennie Thompson to spearhead this vital mission.

President Biden’s words were pointed, true, and necessary as we remember this somber anniversary. There needs to be moral clarity in this country about who incited the January 6th attack and what an ugly stain it was on our country, which, as he truthfully notes, was ‘un-American’ and ‘un-democratic.’”

Moore voted to impeach Trump.

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, called the insurrection “the worst attack on our nation’s Capitol since the War of 1812,” in a statement Thursday.

“We will always remember the brave law enforcement officers who defended our democratic institutions and the lives that were lost,” he said. “We all have a role to play in defending our democracy as we move forward and try to ensure something like this never happens again.”

Kind voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the riots, and voted in favor of creating an independent commission to investigate the insurrection.

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan said in a tweet that the insurrection wasn’t a random gathering or a normal day at the Capitol.

Pocan criticized Republicans for being silent on the anniversary, saying in another tweet that they’re “afraid of their cult leader retaliating.”

On his personal Twitter account, Pocan called out and heckled Congressional Candidate Derrick Van Orden for participating in the Jan. 6 attacks.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said on the one-year anniversary, it’s time to honor the officers who lost their lives and were injured.

He said it’s shameful there’s an attempt to rewrite history, adding that while those efforts have failed, the lie that fueled them haven’t gone away.

“It’s important to be clear about what actually took place: The insurrection was a violent attack on members of the U.S. Capitol Police, the U.S. Capitol, and our democracy. Incited by the then-sitting President of the United States, a mob attempted to use force to block congressional certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election,” Kaul said in a written statement.

Editor’s note: This story will be updated. Wisconsin Public Radio’s Rob Mentzer and Diane Bezucha contributed reporting to this story.