NYC Will Rally To Denounce Capitol Insurrection, 1 Year Later

BROOKLYN, NY — New York leaders will gather at Grand Army Plaza on Thursday to denounce the U.S. Capitol Insurrection, which unfolded one year ago this week.

The "Defend Democracy" rally, set to start at noon, comes one year after a mob of President Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress met to certify President-Elect Joe Biden's electoral victory.

It is one of hundreds of vigils and events that will be held across the country to mark the anniversary.

In New York, leaders hope the demonstration will send a clear message to those that, a year later, perpetuate the idea that the 2020 elections were stolen.

"States are the front lines for protecting and expanding voting rights and defending democracy from those who threaten it," a press release from state Sen. Zellnor Myrie reads. "On the first anniversary of the attacks, New York leaders will loudly and clearly state that we will always defend democracy, and will never give up a single inch to the forces undermining voting rights."

More than a dozen New Yorkers have been charged for participating in the Jan. 6 riot, including several in Brooklyn. Their cases are still moving through the court system.

Five people died either before, during or shortly after the insurrection, including one person shot by Capitol police, another from a drug overdose and three who perished from natural causes.

Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months.

Here's what to know about the Grand Army Plaza rally:

WHEN: Thursday, January 6, 2021 at 12 p.m.

WHERE: Grand Army Plaza, Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch (intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn)

WHO:

• State Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie
• NYS Attorney General Letitia James
• NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
• NYC Comptroller Brad Lander
• Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso
• Assembly Member Latrice Walker
• Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon
• Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest
• NYS NAACP President Hazel Dukes
• City Council Member Crystal Hudson
• Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon
• Pastor Edward-Richard Hinds
• Pastor Rashad Moore
• Rabbi Rachel Timoner