I am not going to allow some
and I say some. The chairman of this committee
is a serious legislator who wants answers. Some are not, and some are trying to
rewrite what has happened in our country over the last eight years, a race, what
happened in this building on January 6th? One member of this body in Congress
said the Republican district attorney in Butler County should immediately
file charges against Joseph Biden for inciting assassination. Another. Said Congressman Scalise, Justice
Kavanaugh, and now President Trump. For years, Democrats and their allies have
recklessly stoked fears, calling President Trump and others threats to democracies. Another said Democrats and liberals
in the media have called Trump a fascist. They've compared him to Hitler.
They've tried to lock him up. A radical shift in what has
really happened in our country. In fact, the president,
the former president's current vice presidential nominee, is the one who said that Donald Trump might be America's. Hitler might be a cynical,
A-hole cultural heroine He's responsible for nauseous and reprehensible. I joined the chairman and seeking unity
as the antidote to political violence. Unity
as the antidote to political violence. But we're not going to erase and rewrite
and allow some to reincarnate themselves as victims of what happened. I now recognize the gentleman
from California, Mr. Swalwell, for five minutes of questioning. Violence has never been the answer. And I thank both of you for your service
in law enforcement and testifying today. Violence has never been the answer, not on a certain day in January and not on a day in July. I remember I was 12 years old and my dad
was on the way to school on a cold day in January, and my dad, who was a cop,
stopped me as I was about to leave, and he wanted me to watch the television. His guy had just lost a presidential election, and some young kid from Arkansas
was about to be sworn in as the new president of the United States. My dad was burned.
He really liked George Bush. He did not like Bill Clinton.
But he told me to stop and watch the television coverage of the inauguration
because he said, look at that. Look at that, son.
He said, that's what makes us so special. My guy lost. This guy is getting sworn in
and not a shot has been fired. That's what makes us different.
Violence has never been the answer. It's despicable that somebody thought they
could take a shot at the former president and change the course of history. We don't know much about
the political beliefs of this individual. We know he was a 20 year old male
registered Republican gun enthusiast, also had researched the DNC,
also had researched president Biden, also had researched speaker. Leader I'm sorry, Leader Hakeem Jeffries. We don't know what led this madman
to try and kill the former president, but it's despicable. And the people who went to that rally
deserved to hear, without violence, the candidate that they were supporting. Commissioner Paris, I'm sorry
this happened to your community. I'm sorry this happened to the people.
Who? The person who died and the person persons
who've been wounded. I just want to understand, though,
because we are a country that is armed to the teeth. How many firearms
were within the perimeter? Just by back of the envelope estimate? The only firearms of which I'm aware that
were inside of the perimeter were those in the possession of law enforcement. And would you estimate
that was hundreds or dozens? I would only feel comfortable not having
seen the Secret Service operations plan about the PSP members
that were inside of the perimeter. Okay. How many rounds did the shooter fire
before he was killed? - Do you know?
- I believe that the number is eight. - Eight casings have been recovered.
- We can't let this ever happen again. We must arm law enforcement
and have better security perimeters. But in this country,
violence has never been the answer. I yield back.