Congress Ducks Blame for the Capitol Riot

As I watched the events of last Jan. 6 unfold, I understood I was witnessing a national calamity. But for me, it was personal. To someone who served as the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms in the 1980s, and before that as a Senate staffer, the images were a punch to the gut. This had been my office, one that had inspired awe and respect.

The U.S. Capitol has been violated before. In 1814 the British burned several rooms in the building, as well as the White House. In 1954 four Puerto Rican nationalists smuggled guns into the House visitors gallery and wounded five members of Congress. But Jan. 6 was different. These were not individuals rejecting their American citizenship and seeking independence, but Americans storming their own seat of government.