Good morning, and Happy New Year. It’s good to be back.

It’s close to the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. 

A handful of new polls show Americans are still divided over the events of that day, and that many Republicans still believe against all evidence that the 2020 election was not legitimate.  A new NPR/Ipsos poll finds that 64 percent of Americans believe U.S. democracy is "in crisis and at risk of failing." Here’s the story: That sentiment is felt most acutely by Republicans: Two-thirds of GOP respondents agree with the verifiably false claim that "voter fraud helped Joe Biden win the 2020 election" — a key pillar of the "big lie" that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. Fewer than half of Republicans say they are willing to accept the results of the 2020 election — a number that has remained virtually unchanged since last January. And an ABC/Ipsos poll finds 72 percent  of Americans believe the people involved in the attack on the Capitol were "threatening democracy," while 1 in 4 Americans believe that the individuals involved were "protecting democracy."  Another poll, this one from the Washington Post and the University of Maryland, finds a similar partisan split over what happened and who is responsible. In this poll 60 percent of Americans say Trump bears either a “great deal” or a “good amount” of responsibility for the insurrection, but 72 percent of Republicans and 83 percent of Trump voters say he bears “just some” responsibility or “none at all.” 

MPR’s Mark Zdechlik reports: The Senate Rules Committee will hear from the new Capitol  police chief on Wednesday.  Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who chairs the committee, said progress has been made in protecting against future uprisings but more needs to be done. "The Inspector General himself has said that the Capitol is a safer place than it was a year ago,” Klobuchar said. As she looks back on the insurrection, Klobuchar said she thinks about how fragile the U.S. democracy is. But she said progress has been made in making the seat of government safer. "That progress includes a new police chief, it includes passing my bill to make it easier for the chief to call in the National Guard if necessary, better equipment,” Klobuchar said. “ I'll never forget the haunting words of the officer that day that said over the police radio, does anyone have a plan?" And the Washington Post has more on new Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger. 

Stephen Montemayor of the Star Tribune reports that those who believe the 2020 presidential election was illegitimate have raised about $37,000 for the defense of four men from one Lindstrom family who face federal charges for participating in the insurrection. State Sen. Mark Koran, R- North Branch, briefly linked to the fundraising effort on his Facebook page, but would not talk to Montemayor. From the story: The four family members facing federal criminal charges are Robert, Jonah and Isaac Westbury and Aaron James. Their defense — and a related crowdfunding effort launched by Robert's wife Rosemarie Westbury, who has not been charged — is now unfolding along a similarly polarized interpretation of reality. With her family members charged with a litany of crimes related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Rosemarie Westbury has blasted the government as "tyrannical" and called it a "domestic threat." 

Nearly a year after the attack, one of the Capitol police officers who was assaulted as he tried to defend an entrance to the building still can't raise his left arm due to injuries he sustained, and the psychological wounds have also not healed for him or his family. "They see me cry. They cry with me. They see me in pain. And they also cry because they can't do anything for me other than try to make me feel a little bit better," U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell told NPR last week. "This whole year has been horrific." Gonell returned to work 10 months after the insurrection –- in an administrative position because of his hurt shoulder. He's in therapy for his mental health, and as the one year anniversary of the riot approaches, he says what's on his mind is "anxiety." Gonell said the penalties for many of the rioters who have been convicted so far are not enough. "Their jail time is less than my recovery time," Gonell said. "The charges they're getting do not compare to the mental and physical injuries some of the police officers, including myself, got."

From the Associated Press:Judges are hearing tearful expressions of remorse — and a litany of excuses — from rioters paying a price for joining the Jan. 6 insurrection, even as others try to play down the deadly attack on a seat of American democracy. The Justice Department’s investigation of the riot has now entered the punishment phase. So far, 71 people have been sentenced for riot-related crimes. They include a company CEO, an architect, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, a gym owner, a former Houston police officer and a University of Kentucky student. Many rioters have said they lost jobs and friends after their mob of Donald Trump loyalists disrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory. Fifty-six of the 71 pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Most of them were sentenced to home confinement or jail terms measured in weeks or months, according to an Associated Press tally of every sentencing. But rioters who assaulted police officers have gotten years behind bars.