Politics

(WASHINGTON) — The early collection of historical artifacts collected by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History documenting the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 , includes a flak jacket worn by a journalist when she was attacked and signs with violent rhetoric.

“Off with their heads,” one sign reads, echoing the chilling words chanted by rioters who stormed the Capitol and threatened the lives of lawmakers.

“Those are heavy signs. They clearly took some time to repaint, and someone came with bolts and tools to attach them to street poles. So, they were not walking around carrying those. They wanted them to be someplace where people could see them and presumably thought that they would stay there for a long time,” Claire Jerry, curator of political history at the museum told ABC News, describing the sign and others in the collection with words stenciled and spray-painted on large, thick sheets of metal.

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

The museum collected several artifacts in the days immediately following the attack. As they often do, especially in the nation’s capital city, they sent out a rapid response team to pick up and preserve discarded material on the National Mall and around the Capitol buildings. Jerry said in some cases, her staff tried to stay ahead of cleaning crews to gather significant material that otherwise might have been lost.

Museum staff says it’s been a challenge to bring in new artifacts this last year, because of COVID-19 restrictions and extensive, ongoing law enforcement investigations. But the team was quick to talk about the historical significance of that day as it related to the nation’s politics, and the 2020 campaign and election.

“This peaceful transfer of presidential authority, the mainstay of the American democracy since 1800, was intentionally interrupted as thousands of rioters, many carrying Trump banners and signs, violently broke through police security and entered the Capitol. This was the first time that the Capitol had been breached on a large scale since the War of 1812 when British troops attacked the city,” museum staff wrote in a press release this week.

Over 700 criminal cases have been brought against rioters and nearly 200 individuals have already pleaded guilty. Dozens of law enforcements officials were injured during the attack, many of them hospitalized and out of work for months.

“The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and on the foundation of the United States’ democratic republic, revealed the fragility of our political system,” said Anthea M. Hartig, the museum’s Elizabeth MacMillan director. “As the nation’s flagship history museum, our staff is committed to documenting and, most importantly, preserving this history for future generations to understand how the events of that fraught day unfolded and to track their ongoing impacts.”

Included in the collection is a group of National Guard insignia from units from around the country who responded in days after the attack, as well as a flak jacket worn by a freelance photographer when she was attacked by a female rioter on the Capitol ground the evening of Jan. 6.

The attacker’s knife blade pierced straight through the heavy material of journalist Madeleine Kelly’s jacket. The attack was clearly violent and forceful. Kelly credits the jacket with keeping her safe, if not saving her life.

“We know from video and from photographs that the press was literally attacked. There were stashed cameras, and this is an important story to tell,” Shannon Perich, photography curator, told ABC at the museum. The vest is displayed on a mannequin that is designed to be close to Kelly’s size.

“Her physicality was not threatening, but she was taking photographs and that was threatening. And this is an interesting story to think about the power of photography in that way,” Perich added.

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(WASHINGTON) — It was hardly the first week any of us imagined: A violent mob storming the United States Capitol, chanting for the vice president to be hanged, leaving behind a trail of shattered glass, blood and debris. The first 100 hours on the job were filled with chaos, confusion and a new set of challenges.

For most freshman lawmakers, the Jan. 6 attack meant running for safety in a building they hardly knew. For me, as ABC’s incoming congressional correspondent, it meant covering a historic and deadly insurrection as one of my first assignments on the beat.

Third day on the job: ‘Oh, is this your first coup?’

Just three days after being sworn into office, the freshman class of lawmakers found themselves hiding for cover. “It was a day of terror,” Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman said. “I remember feeling numb and in shock.”

Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones was down on the House floor as the mob of Trump supporters closed in on the chamber. Members were instructed to grab escape hoods — emergency gas masks — and swiftly move to a secure location.

“Oh, is this your first coup?” Jones recalled another member mentioning to him in jest once they reached a secure location.

The U.S. Capitol is well over 1.5 million square feet with 600 rooms, underground tunnels and corridors that stretch miles. It’s hardly a building you can learn your way around in a few days — let alone during an insurrection. “You don’t have a sense of direction because you’re only three days on the job,” Bowman said. “I definitely didn’t know where the cafeteria was or the most efficient way to get into the Capitol.”

For Bowman, the chaos that unfolded that day would define the weeks and months that followed; and when I asked if he still feels the weight of Jan. 6 one year later, his answer was definitive. “As you were asking the question, I felt the tension in my neck and shoulders,” he said. “Yes, every single day I feel it. Every day I walk out of my house, I feel it.”

The unwatchable video: ‘It brought me to my knees’

If there was a “honeymoon phase” for the freshman class, it didn’t last long. Their first three Wednesdays in office would be unlike any others in American history: an insurrection, an inauguration and an impeachment. The Capitol became a fortress with miles-long fencing wrapped around the complex, military vehicles guarding the streets and an armed National Guard standing at the ready.

For weeks, many lawmakers had no idea how close they had come to the violent mob — but that all changed during the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. The never-before-seen video of the attack was raw and graphic. It sent shockwaves throughout the Capitol.

For Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, much of it was unwatchable. “I couldn’t get through the video that the Democrats put together for impeachment, I got through about half of it. I could not watch it. It made me physically ill, it made me sick to my stomach, it brought me to my knees,” Mace told me, weeks after the insurrection.

During our interview, I nodded silently. The images were searing and still keeping me up at night. I remembered the moment things took an even more dramatic turn during the insurrection, when there were reports of gunfire inside the Capitol. Before we knew it, paramedics raced past our team, rushing a woman out on a gurney. Blood covered her face and gushed down her body. Her eyes were barely open, and as they carried her away, she stared back at the building she breached.

Almost every day, I enter through the building’s doors, perhaps one of the things I’ve struggled with most is not having any memories of the Capitol prior to Jan. 6. Most things I pass every day — windows, entrances, plazas, cafeterias — trigger memories from that day.

Over the course of several hours, we watched as medics scrambled to triage bruised and bloody officers. In the months to come, I would personally come to learn the names, faces and stories behind those images.

More than 130 days after the Capitol siege, the National Guard ended their mission. Their presence became unusually “normal,” and now, at times, I still find myself looking around for them.

One year removed: The day that changed Congress

One year after the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Capitol is still reeling from the violence. The attack only deepened fraught political divides, eroding trust between members who were caught in the crosshairs.

Freshman Republican Rep. Troy Nehls came face to face with rioters pounding on the door of the House chamber. “The door started shaking violently. And then the glass shattered. I saw a young man and he was looking at me and I was looking at him and he said, ‘You’re from Texas, you should be with us.’ And I told him this was ‘un-American, what you’re doing,” Nehls told ABC News.

Hours later, when the lawmakers returned to the chamber to certify the election results for President Joe Biden, Nehls was one of 147 Republicans who voted against it.

Tensions between parties have worsened. Shouting matches have erupted in the hall and deeply personal attacks have prompted members to relocate offices. Some Democrats have drawn a line — outright refusing to work with Republicans who voted against certifying the election. The House took rare action and issued a formal rebuke of a Republican who posted an animated video depicting him killing a fellow member of Congress and attacking the president.

Threats against lawmakers have peaked to record levels: 9,600 reported in 2021, according to Capitol Police. The number has more than doubled in the last four years. A year later, the lawmakers who stood shoulder to shoulder through the violence and chaos still can’t agree on how to define the events that occurred.

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(WASHINGTON) — Just days before the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack at the United States Capitol, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said domestic violent extremism remains one of “the greatest terrorism related threats” the country faces.

“Over the past year, we in the Department of Homeland Security have improved and strengthened our approach to combating this dynamic, evolving threat,” Mayorkas told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday. He detailed some of the steps the department has taken, such as convening conference calls to discuss emerging threats and sharing intelligence bulletins of which he said DHS has sent more than 80 on domestic violent extremists alone.

At the same time, he said there are no credible threats ahead of the Jan. 6 anniversary.

Those who attacked the Capitol last year included groups that align with the department’s definition of domestic violent extremism.

Mayorkas said DHS is “very focused” on the “lone-wolf actor,” something proving hard to stop, or a “loose affiliation” of people to one group.

“We are operating at a heightened level of vigilance because we are at a heightened level of threat,” the secretary said. “The threat of domestic violent extremists is a very grave one.”

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

“This was an assault that requires attention,” Mayorkas said, adding it has gotten the proper response which is to investigate what occurred. He said encrypted messaging apps make things more challenging to investigate, and stressed it is all being done with civil liberties in mind.

He said there are wha he called two “predicates” that define domestic violent extremists.

“One of the predicates is ideologies of hate. And the second predicate is false narratives,” he said. “And that is where misinformation comes into play. What is important in defining domestic violent extremism” he said, is “standing by and adhering to our values of free speech is not the ideologies of hate.”

Mayorkas stressed that it isn’t the false narratives themselves “but rather their connectivity to violence that creates the threat to which we are obligated to respond. That is what is what domestic violent extremism is about is the connectivity between false narratives and ideologies of hate to violence.”

When asked by ABC News , Mayorkas couldn’t point out specific examples of cases in which they’ve disrupted domestic violent extremism activity or speech because some are ongoing criminal cases.

Mayorkas, though, did not mince words speaking to the American people about assurances he can provide regarding another Jan. 6-style attack.

“We in the Department of Homeland Security, along with our state, local tribal territorial partners, as well as our partners and courts across the federal government are dedicated 24 hours a day seven days a week to ensure that another January 6 does not occur.”

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(WASHINGTON) — “From the way I sleep, eating breakfast, making sure I don’t hurt myself putting my shirt on. The way I walk, the way I play with my son. The phone calls from the Justice Department, from the FBI, from the department, asking ‘do I recognize this individual?’… It hasn’t been easy,” Gonell told ABC “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir last month.

Watch more TONIGHT on “World News Tonight” at 6:30 p.m. ET

A Capitol Police officer and Iraq War veteran, he was on Capitol Hill that day when thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the halls of Congress, looking to overturn the presidential election.

“They were pulling me by my leg, by my shield, by my shoulder strap,” Gonell told Muir.

Gonell and his fellow officers were outnumbered. By the time the rioters left the building, he would be one of dozens officers injured in the first attack on the U.S. Capitol since 1814: Gonell was sprayed with chemicals and crushed by the crowds — his left shoulder and one of his feet later requiring surgery.

When he got home early morning Jan. 7, he was afraid the chemicals on his uniform and skin would injure his wife, as she tried to hug him.

“All she wanted to do was hug me because she had been watching TV since it started. And I knew that if I would hug her, then all those chemicals would transfer to her,” he told Muir.

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

As the country marks one year since that insurrection, and with investigations into the planning and execution of that attack ongoing, Muir sat down with Sgt. Gonell, his fellow Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, and Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges — all of whom were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 of last year.

It was the first time the three officers sat down for an interview since they, and former Capitol Police Officer Michael Fanone, detailed the horror they endured on Jan. 6 during a congressional hearing six months after the attacks.

The wounds are still raw.

“I think it’s just as simple as I work in a crime scene,” Dunn told Muir. “Going to work at the Capitol every day, it’s a constant reminder of what happened…I return to the crime scene every single day. And what more memory do you get than just going to the scene of the crime every day?

Dunn testified to the House select committee investigating Jan. 6 that he was called racial slurs by the rioters as they stormed the Capitol.

“Is this America?,” Dunn recalled asking a fellow officer during the interview with Muir. “How could something like that happen at the U.S. Capitol, the pinnacle of democracy?”

ABC’s Rachel Scott, Ely Brown and Trish Turner contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges has become a symbol of the violence officers endured while protecting lawmakers and the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Hodges had responded to the building as Capitol Police units were overrun, and ended up pinned down by the crowd, between a door and a crush of rioters intent on getting through police lines and into the building. One of those rioters, attacking him — as Hodges screamed, trying to set himself free. Video of that attack now seen around the world.

Watch more TONIGHT on “World News Tonight” at 6:30 p.m. ET

“I remember just the intensity of his guttural screams and I swear I remember him foaming at the mouth and just grabbing at my mask and … ripping it off my head, straining my neck, ripping away my baton, beating me in the head with it,” Hodges told “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir. “It crossed my mind at the time that, you know, this might be it.”

Muir sat down with Hodges and Capitol Police officers Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell — all of whom were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 last year. It was the first time the three officers sat down together for an interview since they, and former Capitol Police officer Michael Fanone, detailed the horrors they endured on Jan. 6 during a congressional hearing six months after the attacks.

“The absolute zealotry of these people was unreal. They — they were completely convinced that — without any evidence whatsoever ever, that the election was stolen and that they were doing the right thing,” Hodges told Muir.

For Hodges, the lack of accountability so far for people in power he says are responsible for the attack is both frustrating and troubling.

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

“It’s frustrating that we’re a year on and no one higher up at all has been charged with anything save, you know, contempt for not responding to a subpoena,” Hodges told Muir. “I’m very sensitive to telling other professionals how to do their job. You know, I’m not a fed, I’m not a lawyer, I’m not a prosecutor … I just have to hope that they’re doing everything they can to see that the– the people in power get what they deserve.”

Hodges, who remains an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department, warns — if there are no consequences — a new attack is imminent.

“You’ve got to deal with this harshly and quickly in order to squash any thoughts of this happening again, which I guarantee you, people are imagining this happening again,” he told Muir.

“Right now?” Muir asked.

“Right now,” he warned.

ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Ely Brown and Trish Turner contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — As the nation approaches one year since the violent siege on the U.S. Capitol that sent shocking images worldwide of America’s democracy under attack, Democrats in Washington are planning to mark the anniversary with somber tributes from the building that was stormed.

Thursday’s events will include a moment of silence, first-hand testimonies from lawmakers, a panel discussion with historians and a prayer vigil on the Capitol steps.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to deliver remarks to kick off the ceremonies at 9 a.m. with the president expected to highlight the “historical significance” of Jan. 6, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, and address “what it means for the country one year later.”

“The president is going to speak to the truth of what happened, not the lies that some have spread since, and the peril it has posed to the rule of law and our system of democratic governance,” Psaki said at a press briefing Tuesday.

She said Biden will take the chance to commemorate law enforcement officers who protected the Capitol and those inside.

Approximately 140 police officers were injured at the Capitol on Jan. 6 including about 80 U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department, according to the Department of Justice. At least five people died during or after the attack, including four protestors and one law enforcement officer.

“Because of their efforts, our democracy withstood an attack from a mob and the will of the more than 150 million people who voted in the presidential election was ultimately registered by Congress,” Psaki said.

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

Biden is also expected to preview the “work we still need to do to secure and strengthen our democracy and our institutions to reject hatred and lies,” Psaki added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has unveiled a full program as well, based on member input.

“These events are intended as an observance of reflection, remembrance and recommitment, in a spirit of unity, patriotism and prayerfulness,” Pelosi said in a letter to House Democrats last week.

The schedule Pelosi outlined begins at 10 a.m. with a statement from the speaker and a moment of reflection on the House floor, followed by a moment of silence in the chamber at noon. Then, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden will moderate a “Historic Perspective” panel discussion with historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham “to establish and preserve the narrative of January 6th.”

In the afternoon, in a large room in the Cannon Office House Building, Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a decorated Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran who was sworn in for his second term on Jan. 6 — will lead members in sharing their experiences and reflections.

The schedule is set to conclude at 5:30 p.m. with a prayer vigil on the U.S. Capitol center steps. Members of the House and Senate were invited to observe the anniversary with prayer and music.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is expected to appear with Pelosi at the day’s events, has tied the anniversary to a push for voting rights legislation that the House passed last year but which is stalled in the Senate.

Republican leaders, meanwhile, are not expected to be at the Capitol on Thursday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is instead planning to attend the funeral of late Sen. Johnny Isakson in Georgia. And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has repeatedly accused Democrats of politicizing the day after saying on Jan. 6, 2021, on the House floor that “President Trump bears responsibility” for the “attack on Congress by mob rioters.”

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday canceled a planned press conference from Mar-a-Lago, and House Republicans will be at home “talking to their constituents about things that actually affect them” like inflation and high gas prices, according to a House Republican leadership aide.

With more than 700 accused Capitol rioters facing charges from the Department of Justice, Attorney General Merrick Garland is also scheduled to address Americans and Justice Department employees on Wednesday, the day before the anniversary, regarding how the agency is holding those responsible for the attack accountable.

Last year, speaking at the time from a podium labeled “Office of the President-Elect,” Biden called on then-President Trump to put an end to the “siege” as his supporters stormed the building.

“At this hour, our democracy’s under unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times. An assault on the citadel of liberty, the Capitol itself,” Biden said from Wilmington, Delaware. “This is not dissent, it’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition, and it must end now. I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward.”

Following pleas from allies and critics alike, Trump released a one-minute video on social media several hours after he finished speaking to supporters at the Ellipse and the attack began. “Go home,” he told the group, adding, “We love you.”

ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday will deliver a rare address on the Justice Department’s sweeping investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, in remarks one official said will outline DOJ’s “efforts to hold accountable those responsible” attack on the Capitol.

One year after the assault, more than 700 people across nearly every state in the U.S. have faced federal charges for joining the riot — and the FBI continues to seek tips on hundreds more still-unidentified individuals, including more than 350 who committed violent acts while on Capitol grounds.

More than 70 people have been sentenced for their criminal conduct on Jan. 6, including 32 who were ordered to time behind bars. A New Jersey man seen hurling a fire extinguisher at police during the siege received the harshest sentence handed down by a judge thus far of more than five years in prison, an ominous sign for the more than 200 individuals currently facing charges of assaulting law enforcement.

According to the Justice Department, more than 270 face charges like conspiracy or obstruction that carry potential maximum sentences of 20 years in prison, and prosecutors have said in hearings for several alleged rioters that they’re weighing potential terrorism enhancements for those DOJ can prove were driven by political motivation in their crimes.

But even as the federal investigation into those who carried out the attack on the Capitol charges forward, DOJ and specifically, Garland himself, have increasingly found themselves the subject of public scrutiny over what critics have argued is a seeming hesitance to hold accountable those like former President Donald Trump or his allies who urged the rioters to march toward Congress or otherwise worked to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The criticism has been levied by numerous legal experts, former prosecutors and lawmakers in editorial pages and cable news appearances — and has even extended to at least one of the federal judges overseeing the prosecutions of the Jan. 6 rioters.

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

In a November sentencing hearing for Jan. 6 rioter John Lolos, for instance, District Judge Amit Mehta described Lolos as a “pawn” being punished even as those who “created the conditions” for the insurrection “in no meaningful sense of the word have been held to account.”

Garland has acknowledged the commentary as recently as October in an appearance at the New Yorker Festival, where he said he’s aware “there are people who are criticizing us for not prosecuting sufficiently and others who are complaining that we are prosecuting too harshly.”

Specifically asked at the event about Trump’s alleged role in inciting the riot, Garland declined to answer directly noting Justice Department policy against commenting on potential investigations.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure that the perpetrators of Jan. 6 are brought to justice,” Garland said. “We will follow the facts and the law where they land.”

A DOJ official said that Garland’s remarks Wednesday will similarly “not speak to specific individuals or charges,” but rather will “discuss the department’s solemn duty to uphold the Constitution, follow the facts and the law, and pursue equal justice under law without fear or favor.”

The speech comes as a parallel investigation by the Jan. 6 House select committee investigating the Capitol siege continues to trickle out details of Trump’s actions before, during and after the attack as well as the activities of his inner circle who were seeking to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory.

The co-chairs of the bipartisan committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., have said in recent weeks that potential criminal referrals to DOJ for specific individuals could be on the table if they find what they believe amounts to evidence of unlawful conduct.

The committee has already made two referrals to DOJ for former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows over their defiance of congressional subpoenas. DOJ indicted Bannon in November on two counts of contempt of Congress and his trial is currently set for July.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. has yet to take action against Meadows after receiving his contempt referral in mid-December.

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(WASHINGTON) — Senate Democrats are using the impending one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to put a fine point on their efforts to shore up the nation’s election system.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in floor remarks Tuesday, said the same misinformation and malice that led a mob seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election to storm the Capitol is fueling voter suppression laws in GOP-controlled statehouses.

“As we remember January 6 this week and as we confront state level voter suppression, we must be clear they are not isolated developments. They are all directly linked to the same anti-Democratic poison of the big lie,” Schumer said, referencing misinformation about the election results espoused by former President Donald Trump and many of his supporters.

Democrats have for months been trying to push some sort of voting reform through the chamber, citing research from the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan independent organization that analyzes election rules, that found that 19 states have enacted 33 laws that make it harder for Americans to vote.

But those legislative efforts have faced an unrelenting blockade from Republicans, who oppose federal election reform because they say it is unnecessary and takes power away from the states to control their own elections.

“There’s been a lot of talk about big lies, the big lie on the other side is that state legislators controlled by Republicans are trying to make it difficult for people to vote,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said at a press conference Tuesday. “If you actually read the legislation that has been passed that’s clearly not the case.”

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

Multiple attempts at passing legislation have fizzled because of the Senate filibuster rule requiring 60 votes to begin debate on a piece legislation. Continued Republican blocks have prompted Democrats to up the ante and many, including Schumer, are calling for a revision to the rules to allow voting reform to pass with a simple majority.

This is far from the first call for a change to the filibuster rules made by Democrats in the evenly divided Senate, but a rule change would require unanimous support from all Senate Democrats, and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have been clear they won’t support a carve out, even for voting rights.

But on Tuesday, Manchin moved slightly off his hardline stance, refusing to rule out a Democratic-only solution on voting rights if Republicans refused to negotiate. Manchin called passing a change to the Senate rules a “heavy lift” while speaking to reporters and emphasized that his “preference” would be Republican buy-in, but he stopped short of calling Republican support a “red line”

“That’s my preference,” Manchin said when asked if GOP support was necessary. “I would have to exhaust everything in my ability to talk and negotiate with people before I start doing things that other people might think need to be done.”

It was enough to give some Democrats a sliver of hope that the West Virginia moderate might be softening his position after months of talks.

But later in the day, after a one-hour, closed-door meeting with Schumer and a handful of key Democrats on voting rights and rules changes, Manchin insisted, “The filibuster needs to stay in place in any way, shape or form that we can do it.”

The senator did, however, express support for making it easier to begin debate on a bill.

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(WASHINGTON) — The family of Guy Reffitt, who has been charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, says it is not the same family as a year ago.

Extremism has torn the Reffits apart, they say, stirring up feelings of fear, loss and anger among family members.

Authorities say Reffitt attended former President Donald Trump’s rally and protest at the Capitol on that fateful day, and is now awaiting trial among the more than 700 who have been indicted in connection with the insurrection.

He has pleaded not guilty. Reffitt’s attorney, William L. Welch, III, did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Watch the full story airing on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7 and 9 p.m. EST.

On Jan. 6, ABC News Live will provide all-day coverage of events marking one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the continuing fallout for American democracy.

Reffitt is accused of obstructing an official proceeding, aiding and abetting; obstructing justice by hindering communication through physical force or threat of physical force; entering and remaining in a restricted building; and civil disorder, according to court documents.

“There were clearly signs he was getting involved with a lot of different people and a lot of bad people,” said Reffitt’s 19-year-old son, Jackson, in an interview with ABC News’ Mireya Villareal.

“Hearing my father was there — it was absolutely disgusting. And pretty much demoralizing. And I really lost all respect for him in that moment,” Jackson added.

Reffitt’s wife, Nicole, said that her husband is a member of the Three Percenters, a group the Anti-Defamation League calls “anti-government extremists who are part of the militia movement.”

Jackson said he went to the FBI with concerns about his father in the days leading up to the insurrection. “If something is to really happen, then I do not want this on my shoulders as the only one that actually sees what he’s doing right now,” Jackson said he felt at the time.

Cynthia Miller-Idriss, professor and director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab at American University, told ABC News she’s seen an increase in polarization among families in recent years.

“What we’re facing here in this country — both related to a lot of the things that happened on Jan. 6, but more broadly — whenever you have rising political violence or extremism or hateful acts or other kinds of violent crimes, families are shattered,” Miller-Idriss said. “The family that’s left behind needs a lot of support and therapeutic intervention.”

Shortly after Reffitt returned from the Capitol, he allegedly threatened his son and daughter over his involvement in the attack, according to court documents. Around Jan. 11, Reffitt told his children that the FBI was watching and ordered them to “erase everything.”

“My father brought up that, ‘if anyone turns me in, like, you know what happens to traitors, traitors get shot,'” Jackson said. “And that spooked me and my sister.”

According to court documents, Reffitt allegedly told Jackson that if he “crossed the line and reported Reffitt to the police, putting the family in jeopardy, Reffitt would have no option but to do Reffitt’s duty for Reffitt’s country, and ‘do what he had to do.'”

Reffitt’s daughter and wife have both denied that he meant anything threatening by that language and the daughter said she did not feel threatened, according to the documents.

Reffitt was arrested on Jan. 16 at the family’s home, as his wife, daughter and son watched. Soon after, Jackson said that he finally decided to leave home.

“I don’t really feel like he’ll forgive me or really take into consideration what he’s been a part of,” Jackson said.

For the rest of the family, they say the insurrection and Reffitt’s arrest has continued to affect their daily lives.

“It has been so difficult,” Nicole said. “The void that’s been left by Jackson and Guy, the girls and I have a very hard time.”

Peyton, Reffitt’s youngest daughter, says she’s “ready to move on” and heal from the situation.

“I have anger, but I love him,” she said of her father.

Reffitt spoke to ABC News from jail in December, saying, “This has been disastrous for me and my family, especially for my girls, my son — actually, all of my family.”

He added: “I never expected anything like this to happen.”

Reffitt says he believes he’ll be exonerated.

“It’s not that hard to prove that I didn’t do anything,” Reffitt said. “It should be pretty easy.”

He said he hopes to have a relationship with his son, someday.

But a full family reunion will take place in federal court when Reffitt’s trial begins in February.

“The whole situation is just going to be so nerve-wracking,” Jackson said. “Once it’s all set in stone, we can go back and really start, I guess, hanging out and getting back together and catching up.”

ABC News’ Seiji Yamashita contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack is expected to ask Fox News host Sean Hannity to cooperate with its investigation, a development first reported by Axios.

A conservative media star and close ally of former President Donald Trump, Hannity was one of the many prominent Trump associates who texted Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, during the Capitol riot last year.

“Can he make a statement?” Hannity asked Meadows of Trump, according to text messages Meadows voluntarily turned over to congressional investigators. “Ask people to leave the Capitol.”

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., revealed the exchanges in a Dec. 14 committee meeting, reading them and others aloud.

Hannity later defended the messages on his nightly Fox News program — where he frequently criticizes the select committee investigation and accuses the panel’s lawmakers of trying to politically damage Trump.

“Surprise, surprise, surprise: I said to Mark Meadows the exact same thing I was saying live on the radio at that time and on TV that night on Jan. 6 and well beyond Jan. 6,” Hannity said.

Jay Sekulow, Hannity’s attorney, tells ABC News they have not been contacted by the panel.

“If true, any such request would raise serious constitutional issues including First Amendment concerns regarding freedom of the press,” Sekulow told ABC News.

A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., confirmed the committee’s plans in an afternoon MSNBC appearance, suggesting the missive to Hannity could be released as early as Tuesday evening.

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