Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., took aim at House Republicans on Tuesday night, warning that the new subcommittee probing the January 6 Capitol unrest was a calculated attempt to “normalize violence.”
Speaking with host Alicia Menendez on MSNBC’s “The Weeknight,” Swalwell claimed the panel’s true purpose was not about security lapses, but about continuing Trump’s grip on power.
Menendez raised concerns over whether Republicans were reframing the events of January 6 as a simple security breakdown, or if they were laying groundwork to defend what she called “the violent coup.”
Swalwell accused Trump of trying to “overthrow government” and undermine the democratic rules of the nation.
Swalwell: He’s telling you not to see your neighbor being chased through a Home Depot parking lot because he’s just trying to work hard and provide for his family.
He’s telling you not to see the new wars he’s adding to the map — and the ones he hasn’t taken off.
And he’s… pic.twitter.com/kYJWuxPwBT
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 10, 2025
“The job is to continue what Donald Trump started on January 6, which was to overthrow government to get rid of the rules we all play by so that he can complete his aspirations to be a dictator. However, we all saw with our own eyes what happened that day,” Swalwell said.
He argued that making individuals like Ashli Babbitt appear heroic while portraying police officers such as Mike Fanone, Harry Dunn, Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, and Daniel Hodges as villains amounted to an effort to turn violence into something acceptable.
“This is an effort to normalize violence, right? And when you’re trying to make Ashli Babbitt the hero and Mike Fanone, Harry Dunn, Sergeant Gonell the bad guys, Daniel Hodges the bad guy. You’re trying to normalize violence and we’re not going to let that happen,” Swalwell insisted.
Swalwell said Republicans were using the committee as a tool to consolidate power.
“This is an effort to justify your own power and to set the stakes and the table, to perhaps take power again by normalizing such violence and we can’t let that be normalized,” he continued.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., announced Monday that Swalwell would serve as the top Democrat on the new committee.
“I am pleased to appoint Congressman Eric Swalwell to serve as Ranking Member,” Jeffries declared, describing him as the son of a police officer and a seasoned prosecutor.
Jeffries said Swalwell would “relentlessly ensure that the American people never forget who was responsible for the events of January 6th.”
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Jeffries also announced Reps. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., would join the panel, calling them “talented” attorneys. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., will serve in an ex officio role.
Under the rules of the House, Jeffries can suggest three names, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has final say on appointments.
Johnson’s office has not confirmed whether the suggested Democrats will be approved.
Democrats had previously formed a select committee after the Capitol riots, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked two of then-GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s proposed members, leading Republicans to boycott the panel.
Only Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., defied her party and served as vice chair.
Jeffries accused Republicans of “trying to rewrite history and corrupt our electoral system” with the new committee.
“House Democrats will continue to forcefully and aggressively push back, as we did with Donald Trump’s second impeachment and the work done by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol,” Jeffries said.
During a Monday press event, Swalwell ranked January 6 among the darkest days in modern history.
“Since the Civil War, what are the three most important dates in American history? December 7, 1941, September 11, and January 6,” Swalwell declared.
“The last two, I didn’t even have to give you the years, because they are seared into our memories.”
He went on to accused Trump of protecting rioters and vilifying law enforcement.
“Donald Trump has pardoned all the insurrectionists, telling the country whatever crime they commit, even if you kill somebody and it’s in his name, you walk,” Swalwell claimed.
“Donald Trump has made villains of the cops who tried to stop them, even those cops who died.”
He also alleged that Trump pressured institutions to soften the portrayal of the events, even claiming the Smithsonian was forced to “whitewash” the impeachment exhibit.
Swalwell added that Americans must resist conspiracies surrounding both September 11 and January 6.
“And here’s why we didn’t buy the 9-11 crazy talk then or the January 6 lies now, because we saw them with our own eyes,” he said.
“No matter your political party, our job now is to make sure that we, the people, always keep those eyes open, that we not accept falsehoods, even from our friends, and that we always choose the truth.”
The new committee will be under the jurisdiction of the House Judiciary Committee and chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., who has already stated he plans to write his own report on the Capitol events.
Loudermilk signaled he did not believe Speaker Johnson should block Jeffries’ proposed members.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance shifted the spotlight to Democrats’ handling of violent crime, blasting their rhetoric about “systemic” problems.
“The big lie the Democrats told about violent crime is that it’s ‘systemic’ and therefore no one’s really responsible,” Vance posted on X.
The big lie the Democrats told about violent crime is that it's "systemic" and therefore no one's really responsible. If the "system" is to blame then you fund a bunch of nonprofits that don't do anything besides give jobs to underqualified radicals.
The reality is that the…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 9, 2025
“If the ‘system’ is to blame then you fund a bunch of nonprofits that don’t do anything besides give jobs to underqualified radicals.”
Vance argued instead that most violent crime is driven by a small number of offenders.
“The reality is that the gross majority of violent crime is committed by a very small group of people and we should be throwing them in prison,” he added.
We will likely never see the entire timeline of the events on J6 since that would show that the earliest overt acts were likely from the ‘peacekeepers’ – like firing tear gas projectiles into the crowd BEFORE anyone ‘rioted.
STILL no word on what use of force policy or rules of engagement little bird acted under when he shot Ashli, regardless that there were other officers in full tac gear that were closer to her that had NOT deemed her to be a threat.
Oh yeah, someone needs to remind swallow that NO LEOs died on that day.