Gabrielle Giffords tweets moving message to husband after Capitol breached
Ten years ago this week, former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot during an assassination attempt in Tucson.
Giffords revisited the shooting in a moving tweet Wednesday directed at her husband, new Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, after a violent pro-President Donald Trump mob overtook the U.S. Capitol.
"As I sat waiting for information about @SenMarkKelly’s safety today, I couldn’t stop thinking about what you must have gone through 10 years ago this week. I’m so glad you and your staff are safe. I love you, sweetie," Giffords said in her post.
Kelly was sworn in last month as Arizona's second Democratic senator.
The former astronaut reacted to Wednesday's breach on the Capitol in a statement on Twitter: "In America, we have fair elections and peaceful transfers of power; democracy prevails over chaos; and those who commit violent acts are held accountable. That won’t change today. This unpatriotic attempt to overturn our election -- and silence the voices of Arizonans -- will fail."
Giffords said in another Twitter post that she was "heartbroken by the violent attempt to undermine our democracy today."
"But we won’t be terrorized. I still believe in the power of democracy to bring us together, casting away hate and lighting a better path forward," she continued.
Giffords and Kelly have been married since 2007.
On Jan. 8, 2011, Giffords and 18 others were shot during a political event in a supermarket parking lot in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people died. Giffords was shot in the head and underwent months of intensive speech and physical therapy to recover.
