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Congressional Republicans<\/a> were largely silent on the fifth anniversary of the January 6 insurrection<\/a> on Tuesday, even as Democrats<\/a> sought to use the occasion to blast Donald Trump<\/a> and a small group of protesters convened on the grounds of the US Capitol in solidarity with those who carried out the attack.<\/p>\n Democrats, who are in the minority in Congress after fruitlessly hoping that the well-documented violence would cause voters to reject Trump for good, seized on the anniversary to decry the president as a threat to democracy, and accuse Republicans<\/a> of acting as his accomplices.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of holding those responsible for the attack accountable, Donald Trump<\/a> and far-right extremists in Congress have repeatedly attempted to rewrite history and whitewash the horrific events of January 6. We will not let that happen,\u201d the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, said at an unofficial hearing his party convened to examine the impacts of the attack.<\/p>\n The anniversary was the first since Trump returned to office nearly a year ago and immediately pardoned almost everyone convicted or charged over the violence, the crowning achievement of a campaign that Republicans began almost immediately in the attack\u2019s aftermath to blunt public outrage.<\/p>\n Noting that some of the roughly 1,500 people whom the president pardoned were convicted of other serious offenses before and after January 6, Jeffries said: \u201cIt\u2019s been a Trump-inspired crime spree. Why won\u2019t Republicans in Congress condemn this dangerous behavior and ongoing threat to public safety?\u201d<\/p>\n Though the attack sent lawmakers from both parties fleeing when rioters breached the Capitol during the joint session of Congress that certified Joe Biden\u2019s victory in the 2020 election, few Republicans noted the anniversary. Those who did downplayed its severity, or sought to steer blame towards the Democrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n