Press Release: HARRISBURG, June 29 – State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Phila., today announced that he will soon introduce legislation that would commemorate Jan. 6 — the date of the deadly right-wing insurrection at the U.S. Capitol earlier this year — as Democracy Observance Day for Education, Remembrance, and Vigilance, to be referred to as Democracy Observance Day in Pennsylvania.
January 6, 2021 was the day when a violent mob of domestic terrorists stormed the federal Capitol and forcibly entered the building, while Congress was meeting to officially tally the Electoral College votes of the 2020 general election, forcing lawmakers and their staff to barricade themselves in secure locations.
Insurrectionists also assaulted law enforcement officers.
Kenyatta said that this dark day is a day to never be forgotten in America and should serve as a reminder to all Pennsylvanians of how democracy was threatened, the blood spilled in pursuit of protecting it and what is required of citizens to preserve it.
“These aggressors who pillaged offices and wreaked havoc upon the People’s House shook the foundation of our democratic republic, revealing how fragile democracy is. As Americans, we must be steadfast in protecting the soul of this nation in the face of conspiracy theories, lies and violence,” Kenyatta said. “My bill would also call for Pennsylvania to also use this day as a time of remembrance by uplifting those who risked their lives to defend our democracy.”
Legislation to establish Democracy Observance Day in Pennsylvania is part of a series of bills Kenyatta is currently crafting that would also include a House resolution urging Congress to do the same on a national level.
Kenyatta represents the 181st PA House District, in North Philadelphia. He has also announced that he is running for the U.S.Senate in the 2022 Democratic Primary.