ICYMI: Welch Speaks About January 6th Anniversary on NPR Podcast ‘Trump’s Terms’

Jan 5, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Peter Welch(D-Vt.),Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, recently joinedNational Public Radioto reflect on the five-year anniversary of the January 6thinsurrection on the U.S. Capitol. Senator Welch discussed his harrowing experience in the Capitol during the attack and how the riot marked a new era of political violence in America.
“Even as I was hearing the glass break, even as I heard the shot going off, even as I was being told by the police to put on the gas mask, I didn’t believe it was happening. I didn’t believe it was happening. I was thinking, ‘Peter, this is not happening.’ And I realized the reason that I thought that is that I couldn’t believe it could happen in the United States,”said Senator Welch to NPR investigative reporter Tom Dreisbach.
Listen to Senator Welch’s interviewhereand below:
Senator Welch hascondemnedPresident Trump’s blanket pardons of January 6 rioters and subsequent retaliation against investigators and prosecutors. The Senator has also criticized continued attempts of Trump loyalists, such as Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, to rewrite the history of the insurrection and defend the rioters. In October, Senator Welch invited Daniel Hodges, a Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer who responded to the January 6thinsurrection, to speak about his experience and push back onRepublicans’ claimsof ‘one-sided’ politically motivated violence.
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