New Dem bill would force schools to label Jan 6 Capitol breach as ‘unprecedented, violent attack’

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Latest Political News on Fox News

A new bill introduced in Virginia would prohibit public schools in the state from describing the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., as a "peaceful protest."

Democrat Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer of Fairfax pre-filed House Bill No. 333 ahead of the start of this year's legislative session that began Wednesday.

The bill, if passed, would require any public school district that wants to teach about Jan. 6 to describe the event "as an unprecedented, violent attack on United States democratic institutions, infrastructure, and representatives for the purpose of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election."

Meanwhile, the bill would also prohibit schools from teaching students that the events of Jan. 6, 2021, were justified due to allegations of election fraud or from describing the incident as a "peaceful protest."

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Helmer's bill would only apply to public schools, and it does not compel any schools to teach about it in the first place. However, if they do, then they would have to follow H.B. 333's guidelines.

Fox News Digital reached out to Helmer for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

"The attempted violent overthrow of our elected government on January 6th, 2021, was a tragedy with no precedent in American history. Trump and MAGA Republicans across the country are trying to rewrite this history — turning traitors into patriots," Helmer said in a press release announcing the new bill. "But Virginians remember our history. We remember the Virginia State Police and National Guard who protected our democracy as Donald Trump egged on a violent mob."

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Helmer described the bill as an effort to "make sure that our history is protected" in Virginia.

In 2023, on the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 capitol riot, Helmer also introduced legislation aimed at banning anyone convicted of a crime related to the riot from serving in public office. The bill never gained enough support to make it out of committee, however.

Helmer, a Democrat who oversees Northern Virginia's Fairfax County, also pre-filed a bill that would impose an assault weapons ban ahead of this year's legislative session in the state.

White House torches Democrats’ Jan 6 ‘gaslighting’ claims in anniversary takedown

Posted on January 6, 2026 by Latest Political News on Fox News

EXCLUSIVE: The White House published a new website Tuesday detailing the timeline of the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, taking aim at Democrat lawmakers for allegedly promoting a "gaslighting narrative" surrounding the protest to silence their political opponents.

"The Democrats masterfully reversed reality after January 6, branding peaceful patriotic protesters as ‘insurrectionists’ and framing the event as a violent coup attempt orchestrated by Trump—despite no evidence of armed rebellion or intent to overthrow the government," the new website states.

"In truth, it was the Democrats who staged the real insurrection," the website continued, pointing to the certification of the 2020 election that the White House described as "fraud-ridden" and for allegedly "weaponizing federal agencies to hunt down dissenters."

"All while (then-Speaker of the House Nancy) Pelosi’s own security lapses invited the chaos they later exploited to seize and consolidate power," the website continues. "This gaslighting narrative allowed them to persecute innocent Americans, silence opposition, and distract from their own role in undermining democracy."

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Tuesday marks the fifth anniversary of the protest that has haunted U.S. politics throughout the Biden administration and through the 2024 campaign cycle, as Democrats slammed Trump for allegedly promoting a riot. The new website works to shed accurate light on the events of the protest following years of Democrats describing it as a dark moment in U.S. history.

The new site boasts the historic date with black and white images of Democrats and others who investigated the breach, a timeline of Trump supporters gathering in Washington, D.C., ahead of and after the breach, and how the House Administration Subcommittee’s Interim Report reviewing the breach uncovered "critical security failures on January 6, 2021, that were largely due to politicized decisions by Democratic leadership and the Pentagon."

The Jan. 6th Select Committee was charged with the initial investigation into the breach and ultimately referred Trump for prosecution in 2022. The committee became a lightning rod of criticism for Trump and Republicans, who accused the congressional body of "deleting and destroying" evidence related to the investigation, which was detailed in the House Administration Subcommittee’s Interim Report published in December 2024.

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The website's timeline of Jan. 6, 2021, kicks off with Trump's "call to action" for Americans to travel to Washington, D.C., "for a peaceful and historic demonstration."

The timeline walks users through the events of the day, including excerpts focused on: "President Trump Delivers Powerful Speech," "Patriots March to the Capitol," "Capitol Police Response Escalates Tensions," "President Trump Urges Calm," and "Leaked Pelosi Video Exposes Security Lapses."

Supporters of Trump gathered outside the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, when Congress was set to certify the Electoral College vote that determined President Joe Biden was elected to the nation's highest office.

Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi was a key figure in the protest's subsequent investigations, as she served as speaker of the House at the time. Footage from inside the Capitol during the protest showed that she admitted to taking "responsibility" for the breach.

"Leaked footage captured by Nancy Pelosi’s daughter shows the Speaker during the chaos admitting, 'I take responsibility,' for security failures," the White House website states. "The video exposes Pelosi’s catastrophic failure to prepare, including rejecting President Trump’s reported advance offers of 10,000 troops to maintain security. Pelosi’s daughter’s own footage shows she knew security was so limited under her watch, exposing the deliberate refusal to accept offered reinforcements that could have prevented or delayed required reinforcements."

Pelosi's office has slammed the promotion of the video as cherry-picked statements that don't contradict that Pelosi was not responsible for handling security at the Capitol, as tactical decisions ahead of the protest fell under the Capitol Police's and the Capitol Police Board's purview.

When asked about the new site and remarks focused on Pelosi, the House Speaker emerita's spokesman, Ian Krager, slammed the use of "cherry-picked, out-of-context clips" to allegedly downplay "the deadly insurrection," which included the fatal shooting of Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt while in the Capitol.

"Numerous independent fact-checkers have confirmed again and again that Speaker Pelosi did not plan her own assassination on January 6th," Krager said. "Cherry-picked, out-of-context clips do not change the fact that the Speaker of the House is not in charge of the security of the Capitol Complex — on January 6th or any other day of the week. The ongoing attempts to whitewash the deadly insurrection are shameful, unpatriotic, and pathetic."

Pelosi published a statement Tuesday on the anniversary of the breach, calling it an "attempted coup" via "a violent insurrection incited by the President of the United States."

"We must speak plainly: January 6th was an attempted coup. It was an effort to nullify millions of lawful votes and subvert the will of the American people," Pelosi wrote in the statement published Tuesday. "But the attack failed because of the courage of public servants who gave proof through the night that our flag was still there by refusing to bend to pressure, threats, or intimidation. On that day, the Constitution held and we kept the Republic."

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Jan. 6, 2021, thrust Trump into a legal and political storm that followed him out of office, fueling his second impeachment and years of courtroom battles. Democrats cited his words and actions surrounding the Capitol riot as grounds for "incitement of insurrection," while prosecutors later built separate cases probing election interference and efforts to overturn the 2020 results.

Democrats stated that Jan. 6 was one of the darkest days in U.S. history, repeatedly pointing to it throughout the Biden administration and 2024 campaign cycle as the Biden–Harris ticket, followed by the Harris–Walz ticket, worked to preserve the party's control of the executive branch.

Biden called Jan. 6 a "dark moment" and "an assault on the citadel of liberty" back in 2021, while former Vice President Kamala Harris said during the 2024 presidential debate that it was "the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War."

Trump has hit back at Democratic rhetoric, defending that he told supporters to march "peacefully and patriotically" outside the Capitol, while also describing the day as "a day of love" and casting many defendants as unfairly targeted. The president granted clemency to all individuals convicted or awaiting trial over the breach, roughly 1,600 people, upon his return to the Oval Office in January 2025.

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The new White House website page argues in one section that "President Trump Corrected a Historic Wrong—freeing Americans Who Were Unjustly Punished and Restoring Fairness Under the Law."

"With his triumphant return to the White House, President Trump wasted no time righting one of the darkest wrongs in modern American history," the site states. "On Inauguration Day 2025, he issued sweeping pardons and commutations for the vast majority of January 6 defendants—patriotic citizens who had been viciously overcharged, denied due process, and held as political hostages by a vengeful regime."

The major legal cases targeting Trump that were tied to claims he worked to overturn the 2020 election were later dropped after Trump returned to office, while a Georgia election-interference prosecution against Trump and others was also dismissed.

The BBC is currently wrapped up in a $10 billion defamation lawsuit leveled by Trump in a Florida federal court over a documentary the outlet published ahead of the 2024 election that included an edited clip of Trump's 2021 speech on Jan. 6. The outlet has apologized for an "error of judgment" regarding editing the speech, but has rejected demands for financial compensation. The edited video is also included on the White House's latest website.

House Dem slammed by conservative writer at hearing on left-wing violence: ‘Coward’

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

A House Democrat faced backlash online for dismissing the testimony of a reporter who has covered multiple Antifa riots, including the riots surrounding the Kyle Rittenhouse murder acquittal.

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., took shots at Townhall senior writer Julio Rosas during Tuesday’s House Homeland Security Committee hearing on left-wing violence in an attempt to discredit him and former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Scott Erickson as witnesses.

Goldman attacked committee witnesses, accusing Erickson of trying to "gaslight" Congress about left-wing violence in America "as if Antifa, which Mr. Rosas, apparently the expert now in organized terrorist activity, has overruled the FBI director who says… there’s a headline that says ‘Antifa is an ideology, not an organization.’"

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"No, no, no, let’s not listen to the FBI director," Goldman continued condescendingly. "Let’s listen to — sorry, what’s your title? — senior writer at Townhall, who is going to tell us that the FBI director is wrong."

After his tirade, one of the witnesses asked if they could respond, to which Goldman shook his head and answered, "There’s no question."

When pressed on it, Goldman said, "No you cannot, I didn’t ask a question."

Rosas blasted Goldman later in the hearing, quipping it is "funny to be lectured by an heir to the Levi Strauss Corporation."

"And, honestly, that's probably why he doesn't consider property damage to be that big of a deal because, not only does he have that, but he also has what some people would describe [as] an impossibly good stock portfolio," Rosas said.

Goldman’s office did not respond to Fox News Digitals’ request for comment.

Rosas also posted a tweet addressing Goldman's attack, writing, "As you can see in the beginning, [Goldman] was too much of a coward to be in the hearing room for my response to his baseless attack."

"And yes, I know more about Antifa than the discredited FBI director," Rosas said.

Rosas has reported on several riots in America involving the far-left militant group Antifa, including the Rittenhouse trial that saw an acquittal.

The Townhall writer also wrote an entire book on the 2020 George Floyd riots titled "Fiery but Mostly Peaceful: The 2020 Riots and the Gaslighting of America."

Users online dogpiled Goldman after his attack on Rosas, with State Freedom Caucus Network communications director Greg Price writing, "Look at the disrespect Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) shows to [Rosas] as a witness, somebody who was on the ground at violent protests from Charlottesville to Kenosha, and wouldn't even let him respond."

"What an absolute punk," Price said, sharing a video of the attack.

Fellow conservative journalist Matthew Foldi of the Spectator wrote, "Dan Goldman is literally attacking a Latinx journalist."

"This is a racist attack against the First Amendment," Foldi quipped.

"The level of liberal arrogance here is just nauseating," MRC NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck wrote. "Goldman, one of the richest members of Congress who made a name for himself on MSNBC (the network where Minneapolis was not ‘generally speaking unruly’), thinks he can lecture [Rosas]."

"He messed with the wrong guy," Houck wrote.

Other users online blasted Goldman for the attack, with Townhall video journalist Kevin McMahon quipping if "there was ever a time to blindly trust the FBI Director as a credible source, it’s certainly not right now."

Goldman appears to have an aversion to allowing committee testifiers to respond to his assertions.

Last month, Goldman was shouted down by the mother of a New York City murder victim during a House Judiciary Committee field hearing, who warned the lawmaker not to "insult" her "intelligence."

The mother, Madeline Brame, was one of many witnesses to testify before the committee during Monday's hearing highlighting the crime problem in Manhattan. Goldman attempted to use the time granted to him to question Brame to instead criticize the hearing itself, arguing it was a "coverup" for Republicans attempting to defend former President Donald Trump.

Goldman, who served as impeachment counsel during Trump's first impeachment, sought to explain his view of the situation to Brame after other Democrats had stated that Republicans were using the witnesses as "props" to defend Trump.

"We're not insulting you. Your experiences are devastating, but the problem is, is that this is a charade to cover up for an abuse of power. [Republicans] are going around incessantly, outside of this hearing, about Donald Trump, and the purpose of this hearing is to cover up for what they know to be an inappropriate investigation [into District Attorney Alvin Bragg]," Goldman said.

"Can I respond to you, please?" Brame asked as Goldman attempted to move on.

"Not right now, because I only have 20 seconds, I'm sorry. But I, I do–" Goldman said.

"Don't insult my intelligence," Brame interjected as Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, attempted to maintain order. "You're trying to insult me like I'm not aware of what's going on here. I'm fully aware of what's going on here, OK? That's why I walked away from the plantation of the Democratic Party."

Brame had testified earlier about Bragg's mishandling of her son's murder case. Her son, Army Sgt. Hason Correa, was beaten and stabbed nine times by multiple people in 2018. The prosecution for the cases dragged on for more than four years, and Bragg ultimately removed the indictments against two of the suspects in favor of lesser charges. Two others ended up receiving life sentences.

Brame argued that Bragg's office has only served to escalate the city's crime problem, showing no "measurable results" in lowering the city's violent crime rate.

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed reporting.