Many Bay Area lawmakers were at the U.S. Capitol as it was overrun on Jan. 6, 2021.
On Thursday, as they reflected on that day, many said time has not healed wounds or political divisions.
Each one had some harsh words for what they called a lack of progress toward unity in the time since the insurrection, contrasting it to the national spirit in the wake of 9/11.
"I was running with Republicans and Democrats," Rep. Eric Swalwell said. "We were both trying to get away from the mob. And I thought, 'Well, this is rock bottom.' This is an opportunity for us to use unity as we did 20 years before, as an antidote to the terrorism that the mob and former President Trump had aimed at the Capitol. And we never had that moment."
"I have a mixture of emotions that are moving through me," Rep. Anna Eshoo said. "I have a deep sense of grief over what happened to our country and the struggle in the aftermath with the big lie and the divisions in our country."
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