insurrection

Congress voted again to impeach President Trump, and law enforcement is preparing for potential violence at state capitals around the U.S. as we count down to Inauguration Day on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Martin Heinrich is now the senior senator for New Mexico, and he was one of the first lawmakers to see the mob make their way to the Capitol steps. KUNM's Khalil Ekulona caught up with the senator on Wednesday morning and asked him about the experience and what things are like in the building now.

On Monday, the FBI warned of armed and potentially violent protests planned in all 50 state capitols starting this week, running through at least Inauguration Day on January 20. The FBI advised police agencies to increase security at statehouses around the country.

Air Force veteran Barbara Jordan led the Black New Mexico Movement in Rio Rancho in the summer, organizing for equality and justice for Black and Brown people. Demonstrators there encountered angry pushback  from hundreds of residents at some events, but she pressed on. KUNM’s Khalil Ekulona reached out to Jordan to get her views on what she saw take place at the nation's Capitol last week, where a mob of people attempted an insurrection of the United States government—with notably less reaction from law enforcement than at BLM protests in 2020.  

  A lockdown was imposed at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, in response to a mob of hundreds of pro-Trump extremists who stormed the building. Freshman U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, who represents New Mexico’s northern third congressional district, was inside with her colleagues conducting the people’s business of certifying the electoral college results. Hours later, KUNM’s Khalil Ekulona checked in with the representative.