Senate Intelligence chair says it's 'stunning' that over 20 years after Sept. 11, attacks on the symbol of democracy are 'not coming from terrorists' but from 'insurgents' at the Capitol on Jan. 6
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- Senate Intelligence chair Mark Warner said the US grew stronger after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- Warner said that 21 years later, the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol depicts the "attack on the symbol of our democracy."
- The senator said he hopes the US could show the "same kind of unity of spirit" now as it did after 9/11.
Senate Intelligence chair Mark Warner said it's "stunning" that 21 years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, "the attack on the symbol of our democracy" hadn't come from foreign threats but from within the US.
"I remember, as most Americans do, where they were on 9/11. I was in the middle of a political campaign and suddenly, the differences with my opponent seem very small in comparison and our country came together. And in many ways, we defeated the terrorists because of the resilience of the American public because of our intelligence community, and we are safer, better prepared," Warner told CBS's "Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan.
"The stunning thing to me is here we are 20 years later, and the attack on the symbol of our democracy was not coming from terrorists, but it came from literally insurgents attacking the Capitol on January 6th," he added.
Warner said that he felt the country is "stronger," and the "intelligence community has performed remarkably," compared to 21 years ago.
"I think the threat of terror has diminished," he said.
However, he added that he's concerned about internal threats.
"But I do worry about some of the activity in this country where the election deniers, the insurgency that took place on January 6th, that is something I hope we could see that same kind of unity of spirit," he said.
On Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris also addressed domestic threats. During an NBC News's Meet the Press interview, Harris, who once served on the Senate intelligence committee said she wishes that lawmakers would look at domestic threats as "Americans first" and not through a "partisan lens."