Five years ago, on January 6, 2021, I crouched on the balcony of the House Chamber as a violent mob incited by Donald Trump pounded on the doors. I heard gunshots, saw tear gas filling the air, I watched officers barricade doors and draw their weapons. And I remember the sound of rioters screaming for blood.
I was one of a small group trapped in the gallery that day. We had been there to witness the peaceful transfer of power, and instead we had to flee for our lives. As we crawled on our hands and knees across the balcony, an officer helped me pull a gas mask over my face. I remember gripping my phone as I ran down three flights of stairs, answering my son’s call for exactly 27 seconds. He’s a police officer. I barely had enough breath to tell him, “Sweetheart, I’m OK. I can’t talk right now, I’m running for my life”.
It was the most terrifying moment of my life. And five years later, the threat that fueled it has returned because of the same president.
A month ago, Donald Trump posted an unmistakable demand: that six Democratic lawmakers be arrested, charged with “sedition,” and subjected to penalties “punishable by death.” Then he escalated further, writing two words no President should ever speak about Members of Congress: “HANG THEM.”
These are not stray comments. These are not metaphors. They are threats from President Donald Trump. They represent a direct danger to both elected officials and the survival of our democracy.
We have seen this crisis before. January 6th was not an accident. It was the result of a deliberate, calculated campaign to overturn a free and fair election. The mob that stormed the Capitol did not appear spontaneously. They came because a president told them to come. They erected a gallows because a president told them their government had betrayed them. Those gallows were erected to hang the Vice President. They hunted lawmakers because a president convinced them that violence was justified.
I know this not as a political argument, but because I lived it. From the balcony, I watched the chaos unfold. I remember the text alerts we received warning that we were being targeted. I knew immediately that I can’t just blend in. It doesn’t matter how many hoodies I put over my head. I am still a Latina. That realization that my identity alone could put me in more danger was its own terror.
When we finally escaped into a secure room, we were packed shoulder to shoulder for hours. Some colleagues were crying. Some were trembling. Others were calling loved ones to say goodbye. Those of us trapped in the gallery have stayed connected through a small support group chat called the “Gallery Group” because we needed one another to process the trauma of that day.
I have always been honest about the lingering effects. For many of us, the fear did not end when the doors reopened. The memories remained from crawling across the balcony, the pounding on the chamber doors, the screams echoing through the rotunda.
That is why I take the president’s words today so seriously. This is a Constitutional crisis, not a partisan fight. Some people want to dismiss Trump’s statements as mere rhetoric. They said the same thing five years ago. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now.
When a president calls for violence against lawmakers, he is not expressing political frustration. He is attempting to intimidate a coequal branch of government. When he directs his rage at Members of Congress because they reminded service members about their legal duty to refuse unlawful orders, he is not only threatening us, he is undermining the rule of law itself.
A president who publicly calls for the execution of his political opponents is a president who has abandoned the Constitution. A president who praises those who used violence to disrupt a democratic election is a president who will do it again.
The question before us now is painfully clear: Will we learn from January 6th? Or will we allow it to happen again?
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These bills send a clear message that political violence will never be excused, rewarded, or forgotten, and that our democracy is worth defending with action, not just words. Five years ago, I ran for my life in the halls of Congress. Today, I am using my voice to make sure January 6 never happens again.
Norma Torres represents California’s 35th congressional district
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