Andy Kim.Photo: Andy Kim/ twitter
Theiconic blue suitthat made Rep. Andy Kim go viral following the January 6 attacks on the Capitol building has a new home in the Smithsonian.
The New Jersey Democrat, 38, took to Twitter on Tuesday, the six-month anniversary of the attempted insurrection, to announce he had donated the piece he wore while helping clean up after the riot.
“I never expected the Smithsonian or frankly anyone to find meaning in the suit I wore on January 6, but the responses — thousands of letters and emails — show how much people were looking for something positive after that day,“Kim toldThe Washington Postin a statement.
The second-term congressman had purchased the famed blue suit forJoe Biden’s inauguration shortly after the November election. After waking up to news of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock’s respective Senate wins in Georgie on the morning of January 6, Kim decided he would wear the blue suit to certify the election results as well.
So he donned it that morning, as Congress was tasked with certifying the electoral college to confirm Biden as the 46th President of the United States.
Rep. Andy Kim.Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock
The scene in Washington D.C. changed rapidly once pro-Donald Trumprioters breached the Capitol, however, leaving lawmakers scrambling for safety. Significant damage was found throughout the building after the attack, from broken glass and garbage to broken benches and artifacts.
In the days following the riots, Kim told the Associated Press it “broke his heart” to see the destruction, and he felt compelled to assist in the clean-up: “What else could I do?”
“When you see something you love that’s broken you want to fix it,” Kim previously told the AP. “I love the Capitol. I’m honored to be there. This building is extraordinary and the rotunda in particular is just awe-inspiring. How many countless generations have been inspired in that room?”
New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Capitol rotunda in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, after protesters stormed the building the afternoon before.Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock
The last time Kimwore the suitwas January 13, when he cast his vote to impeach then-President Donald Trump.
“I wore it so I would have no doubt about the truth of what happened,” he wrote Tuesday on Twitter.
“When I got home I vowed to never wear the suit again,“he added. “I even considered throwing it away. It only brought back terrible memories. I could never separate that suit from the events of Jan. 6. I hid it in my closet as I never wanted to see it again. But then something happened.”
Instead of landing in the garbage, the suit now will hang in the Smithsonian, thanks to the outpouring of support Kim received in wake of going viral.
“For me, I was in a tough place,“Kim tweeted. “In [the] days after Jan. 6 I had an unshakable regret that I didn’t do more to keep people safe. But [the] feeling of hope/resilience in the cards helped me feel stronger.”
source: people.com
