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Rep. Peter Meijer on Jan. 6 committee findings

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — It was one year ago this week that the nation watched as the most violent insurrection at the United States Capitol in modern times played out live on screens around the globe.

For freshman Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Grand Rapids, it all took place in the early hours of his term on Capitol Hill.

On day one Meijer found himself moving out of the House chamber to other areas of the Capitol to avoid the advancing protestors. While the chaos went on for hours, there were many unanswered questions. Perhaps mainly: How could something like this happen in our nation’s capital?

A select committee looking into that is getting mixed reviews largely along partisan lines, but the congressman talked about what he hopes will be the ultimate findings.

“I think it’s important to understand just how we got to that point. What were the pre-conditions, what were some of the institutional weaknesses, because we don’t want to get into the habit — it would be a very dangerous habit to get into — where every four years we contest our elections in a violent way,” Meijer said. “The peaceful transfer of power has been a hallmark of American democracy. That’s one of the things that has distinguished our system … on a global scale. That is something if we lose would be incredibly dangerous.

“We need to make sure that we do not get back up to that edge that we were on, on Jan. 6, that we understand how we got there. Now whether or not the select committee will ultimately produce that I think is an open question, but I certainly hope that’s what the information that comes out will help us guide.”

Meijer also talked about his expectations for the new year in Washington. In addition to everything else, it’s also an election year.

To watch his full interview with News 8’s political reporter Rick Albin, tune in to this week’s episode of “To The Point.”