Biden to Warn Democracy Is at Risk, a Year After the Capitol Riot

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The president’s code marking the day of Jan. 6 volition underscore conscionable however fractured the federation remains.

President Biden and different   Democratic leaders program  speeches, discussions and a candlelight vigil to people    the day.
Credit...Al Drago for The New York Times

Peter Baker

Jan. 6, 2022, 5:30 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON — President Biden plans to telephone connected the federation connected Thursday to recommit itself to a peaceful democracy, informing that it remains astatine hazard a twelvemonth aft a mob of President Donald J. Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol to halt Congress from ratifying his predetermination defeat.

In a code to beryllium delivered astatine the Capitol marking the day of the attack, Mr. Biden volition connection a striking representation of the fragility of the two-century-old American system, according to beforehand excerpts released by the White House. Rather than reaffirm the durability of the union, arsenic presidents typically do, helium volition stress the dangers of its collapse.

“At this infinitesimal we indispensable determine what benignant of federation we are going to be,” Mr. Biden plans to say, according to the excerpts. “Are we going to beryllium a federation that accepts governmental unit arsenic a norm? Are we going to beryllium a federation wherever we let partisan predetermination officials to overturn the legally expressed volition of the people? Are we going to beryllium a federation that lives not by the airy of the information but successful the shadiness of lies? We cannot let ourselves to beryllium that benignant of nation.”

The code volition footwear disconnected a time of commemorations that, alternatively of showcasing American unity, volition underscore conscionable however fractured the federation remains a twelvemonth aft Mr. Trump’s refusal to judge decision astatine the ballot container stirred backers to invade the Capitol, disrupt the counting of the Electoral College votes and nonstop lawmakers scurrying for safety.

Mr. Biden and Democratic leaders program addresses, discussions and a candlelight vigil portion Republican leaders mostly mean to enactment away. Mr. Trump primitively planned a quality league astatine his Mar-a-Lago property successful Florida to obstruction against the probe into the onslaught but canceled to the alleviation of Republicans who considered it counterproductive.

The disparate approaches to the time bespeak however overmuch Jan. 6 has go interpreted done a governmental lens. Democrats presumption the storming of the Capitol arsenic an existential menace to law ideology dissimilar immoderate successful modern times. Most Republicans would alternatively absorption connected thing else, with immoderate convinced that it is being utilized arsenic a partisan limb against them and others fearful of crossing Mr. Trump, who continues to wield outsize powerfulness wrong the party.

Feelings stay earthy connected Capitol Hill, a spot of post-traumatic accent that has yet to afloat retrieve from the intelligence and governmental scars of an battle that led to at slightest 7 deaths and hundreds of injuries. More than the accustomed acrimony implicit legislative differences, the bequest of Jan. 6 has exacerbated the toxic rift betwixt members and unit aides connected other sides of the aisle.

While Mr. Biden has hesitated to prosecute successful a back-and-forth with his predecessor, aides said helium would usage his 20-minute code to much straight blasted Mr. Trump for encouraging the unit a twelvemonth ago.

“I would expect that President Biden volition laic retired the value of what happened to the Capitol and the singular work President Trump has for the chaos and carnage that we saw,” said Jen Psaki, the White House property secretary. “And helium volition forcibly propulsion backmost connected the lies dispersed by the erstwhile president and effort to mislead the American radical and his ain supporters.”

Still, Ms. Psaki did not accidental whether Mr. Biden would specifically admit him by name. “People volition cognize who he’s referring to,” she said.

Mr. Biden is besides expected to interaction connected voting rights, though helium has a abstracted speech connected the taxable scheduled for adjacent week and Ms. Psaki said the Jan. 6 code is “more focused connected the day, what it means successful our past and the relation that immoderate person played successful continuing to perpetuate the large lie.”

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic bulk leader, has signaled successful caller days that helium would marque a renewed effort to walk stalemated voting rights legislation, and wide activists person called connected Mr. Biden to usage the day to propulsion his value down the effort.

But Republicans person accused the White House and Democrats of politicizing the onslaught to beforehand authorities meant to payment their ain party. “It is beyond distasteful for immoderate of our colleagues to ham-fistedly invoke the Jan. 6 day to beforehand these aims,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican number leader.

Key Figures successful the Jan. 6 Inquiry


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Many if not astir Republicans program to absent themselves from Thursday’s events, with astir of the party’s senators heading to Georgia for the ceremonial of their erstwhile workfellow Johnny Isakson.

While Mr. Trump scrapped his quality conference, helium continued to contented written salvos against the House committee investigating the onslaught arsenic helium seeks to reframe the riot arsenic the understandable effect of choler astatine the 2020 election, which helium falsely claims was stolen.

Undaunted by the unit a twelvemonth ago, Mr. Trump inactive uses the benignant of inflammatory rhetoric that prompted House Democrats and a fistful of Republicans to impeach him for inciting an insurrection. In a connection Wednesday assailing coronavirus vaccine mandates, helium said that “MAGA federation should emergence up” against specified policies. He besides again teased that helium would tally successful 2024 by releasing canvass numbers showing him starring different Republican candidates.

Although Republican leaders volition stay officially silent, Mr. Trump’s campy volition beryllium represented by Stephen K. Bannon, his onetime main strategist, who volition big a podcast featuring 2 different Trump allies, Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Security forces successful Washington were connected alert. The Department of Homeland Security issued an quality appraisal to authorities and section instrumentality enforcement connected Dec. 30 saying that though immoderate radicals could exploit the day “to beforehand oregon perchance perpetrate violence,” the Biden medication lacked grounds of “a circumstantial oregon credible threat.”

Domestic extremists, however, continued to amplify mendacious statements astir the 2020 election, according to the assessment, which concluded that “the astir apt menace of violence” connected Thursday “stems from lone offenders seeking to people perceived ideological opponents, governmental symbols oregon instrumentality enforcement.”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed to this report.

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