REPUBLICAN Adam Kinzinger teared up as he told Capitol cops "you guys won, you guys held" during testimony into the January 6 riot.
Wiping his eyes, the GOP rep and former Air Force veteran said: "You guys may feel, individually, a little broken…but you guys won. You guys held."
An emotional Kinzinger – one of two Republicans serving on the committee – added: "Democracies are not defined by our bad days. We're defined by how we come back from bad days.
"We still don't know exactly what happened. Why? Because many in my party have treated this as just another partisan fight.
"It's toxic and it's a disservice to the officers and their families.
"This cannot continue to be a partisan fight. I’m a Republican, I’m a conservative, but in order to heal from the damage caused that day, we need to call out the facts.
"It’s time to stop the outrage and the conspiracies that fueled the violence and division in this country, and, most importantly, we need to reject those that promote it."
'THIS IS HOW I'M GOING TO DIE'
Lawmakers on Tuesday heard from Capitol police officers who described the moment rioters breached the building.
Capitol Police Officer Aquilino Gonell said he thought "this is how I’m going to die, defending this entrance."
Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone said he was “grabbed, beaten, tased, all while being called a traitor to my country.”
Daniel Hodges, also a D.C. police officer, said he remembers foaming at the mouth as rioters crushed him between two doors and bashed him in the head with his own weapon, injuring his skull.
“I did the only thing I could do, scream for help,” Hodges said.
Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn said one group of rioters screamed the n-word at him as he was trying to keep them from breaching the House chamber.
PELOSI PICKS
Kinzinger's nomination to the committee came after Nancy Pelosi rejected two of the five Republican nominees offered by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming was one of the lone Republicans that House Speaker Pelosi had appointed previously.
Kinzinger joined Cheney in voting for Donald Trump's second impeachment.
The committee is innvestigating what went wrong when hundreds of Trump supporter broke into the Capitol.
Pelosi, D-Calif., formed the panel after Senate Republicans blocked an independent, bipartisan probe.
CAPITOL SIEGE
Republicans have branded Pelosi’s latest scheme a “turbo-charged partisan exercise” instead of an “honest fact-finding body.”
Trump's supporters laid siege to the Capitol on January 6 claiming the incumbent president was the victor while Congress certified Trump's loss to President Joe Biden.
Following her her nomination, Kinzinger announced to his followers that he would accept the position.
"For months we have searched for answers and what process we should use to get them," he stated. "For months, lies and conspiracy theories have been spread, threatening our self-governance."
"Today I was asked by the Speaker to serve on the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6th and I humbly accepted. I will work diligently to ensure we get to the truth and hold those responsible for the attack fully accountable," Kinzinger concluded.
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