WORCESTER, Mass. - John White held up a sign he wanted everyone driving by Institute Park in Worcester to see.

It read "1/6/21 Never Again." 

What You Need To Know

  • There were more than 300 January 6th Day of Remembrance and Action vigils across the country on Thursday 
  • On January 6, 2021 there were riots at the U.S. Capitol building
  • Dozens of people showed up for a vigil in Worcester's Institute Park on Thursday
  • Alex Hindman, a political science professor at the College of the Holy Cross, says both Democrats and Republicans are still defining what happened.

“We are horrified by what happened one year ago in Washington, D.C.," White said. 

He’s not the only one. Dozens of people attended a January 6, 2021 Day of Remembrance and Action vigil in Worcester. More than 300 events like this took place across the country Thursday.

“I’m just outraged by what happened not only on January 6, but all the events around it," Robin VanLiew, who attended the vigil, said. 

Alex Hindman is a political science professor at the College of the Holy Cross. He says the insurrection is tough to look back on.

“I’m kind of troubled by the idea of we are dredging it up again," Hindman said. "I think that it’s a good idea at one level to remember it, but I also want to make sure we are not doing over kill."

Hindman says both Democrats and Republicans are still defining what happened. “I think we are still close to it in a way, to be able divorce ourselves from our own personal views, to have a fair picture of what actually happened," Hindman said.

The people at the vigil are also advocating for voter protection laws. 

“There are millions of us who support the Constitution who want to see everyone have the right to vote. We want liberty and justice for all," Mary Sacksteder, an event organizer with the group Indivisible Worcester, said. 

Hindman says Democrats are using what happened at the Capitol to try to pass voting rights bills this month.

“If they can paint that bill as the way to prevent future January 6s, thats what they are going to try and do. For the right, they are trying to run from that, because they know its a losing position for them to be reminded of January 6 and Donald Trump," Hindman said. "So they are trying to shift the narrative away from that, down play, down play, to focus more on Biden’s difficulties in handing the COVID pandemic, his difficulties in Afghanistan."

Meanwhile the crowd at Institute Park says they’re fighting for democracy and hope there’s never another day like January 6, 2021.