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ALSO COVERING AUBURNDALE, COLLEGE POINT, DOUGLASTON, GLEN OAKS, FLORAL PARK
• LITTLE NECK LEDGER
• WHITESTONE TIMES
Jan. 14 - Jan. 20, 2022
FLUSHING RESIDENTS COMMEMORATE CAPITOL
ATTACK WITH VIRTUAL CANDLELIGHT VIGIL
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Three Flushing residents
were joined by Councilwoman
Linda Lee outside of the Flushing
Public Library for a virtual
candlelight vigil on Thursday,
Jan. 6, to mark the one-year
anniversary of the violent insurrection
attack on the U.S.
Capitol.
Henry Krumholz, who organized
the vigil, recalled watching
a mob of then-President
Donald Trump supporters
pushing through barriers and
storming the Capitol seeking
to overturn Trump’s loss in the
2020 presidential election. According
to Krumholz, he was in
a complete state of shock.
“I couldn’t believe this was
happening in America. Former
President Donald Trump was
100% responsible for what happened
on Jan. 6, and had Vice
President Mike Pence changed
his mind and gone with Trump,
we would’ve lost our democracy
forever,” Krumholz said. “As
a lifelong activist, it’s important
for people to come together
and say, ‘never again.’”
Susan, another Flushing
resident, said it was horrifying
to see many people had listened
to Trump.
“Some people did not see
through his sick thinking that
he could only be the president
and he did not want to lose. He
changed the facts and what’s
so scary is that people believed
him and then Republican politicians
are educating people that
are not speaking up, and that’s
also scary,” Susan said.
Gabby, who proudly waved
the American flag, said she is
“utterly heartbroken” by the
current state of the country’s
democracy.
“The fact that it is now endangered
and we have one party
that is laughing in the face
Councilwoman Linda Lee (second from l.) joins three Flushing residents to mark the one-year
anniversary of the attack at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 6. Photo by Carlotta Mohamed
of the rule of law, and we have
a certain segment of the American
population that would like
to fill the other segment as was
evidenced on Jan. 6, I think it
was a jarring wake up call for
everyone,” Gabby said. “I’m really
heartbroken that the only
Republicans who showed up in
the House for the Jan. 6 commemoration
were former Vice
President Dick Cheney and his
daughter, Liz Cheney.”
According to Lee, it’s not a
left versus right or Republican
versus Democrat issue, but a
basic right and threat to Americans’
freedom that Republicans
have failed to recognize which
is “extremely disappointing.”
“This is one of those important
incidents that we can’t
forget that our democracy was
threatened and people wanted
to take that away from us,” Lee
said.
For Lee, the Jan. 6 insurrection
felt like a “crazy, surreal
moment” that left her in
shock, as she thought about
her friends who were sheltering
in place inside the Capitol
building.
“Congresswoman Grace
Meng who was one of my mentors,
just knowing that folks
like her and her colleagues
were in the building while all of
this was happening, and some
of the personal stories we heard
while the insurrection was going
on and the days after that, it
said a lot about where we were
in that moment as a country,”
Lee said. “I’m glad though, that
since that incident, the House
and Congress has passed laws
to expand voting rights. It was
a huge slap in the face towards
our democracy and, as a country,
we have to do better and
stand up to that.”
In a statement, Meng reflected
on that harrowing
day, as she was barricaded in
a room on the House floor as
the angry mob marched right
outside her door.
“I feared for my life and
called loved ones asking them
to pray for me as these insurrectionists,
spurred by then-
President Trump, stormed the
halls of Congress. I continue to
be offended, appalled and disgusted
over the havoc and damage
that they wrecked and their
weaponizing of the American
flag, and all Americans should
feel the same regardless of party
affiliation,” Meng said.
According to Meng, who
represents Flushing in Congress,
hundreds have been
charged for their roles in the
attack and it is crucial that
those responsible continue to
be brought to justice. Many
questions about Jan. 6 remain
unanswered — from who was
involved, the security, coordination
and communications
failures that occurred, and the
actions of Trump and his apparent
refusal to stop the chaos.
Last summer, Meng voted
to establish an independent,
bipartisan commission to investigate
what happened. The
panel has already interviewed
more than 300 witnesses and
secured thousands of pages of
records, Meng said.
The insurrection is still
surreal to Meng, who says she
continues to see the destructive
and violent images of rioters
when she walks through the
Capitol.
“As we reflect on the oneyear
anniversary of the attack,
we must all stand united
against the heinous acts that
occurred on that dark day in
our nation’s history,” Meng
said. “We must continue to address
the hurt and pain that it
has caused, the healing that
still needs to take place, and
do everything in our power to
ensure that a situation like this
never ever happens again.”
Vol. 88 No. 2 32 total pages
/QNS.COM
