Close to 100 people gathered at the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Downtown Long Beach Thursday for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the insurrection that occurred exactly a year ago at the nation’s Capitol.

Downtown was one of more than 150 locations across the country where the event “We the People: January 6th Day of Remembrance and Action” took place in an effort to “prevent another January 6th attack and realize the promise of democracy for all of us,” according to event organizers.

On Jan. 6, 2021, thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump gathered near the Capitol building and White House to assert, falsely, that Trump had been cheated out of a victory in the presidential election.

Rioters marched by elected officials’ windows, breaking glass and making their way through the government building as police attempted to stop further damage.

Long Beach Congressman Alan Lowenthal, who hid in a secret location during the “mob scene” told City News Service that a year later, the Jan. 6 event is still a psychological wound that never really healed.

“It’s like an open sore,” Lowenthal said. “And it’s really important that we do heal and be able to call upon not just our own close friends, but to call upon our colleagues to help us heal.”

Event officials are hoping that the vigil convinces Congress and the president to create preventative solutions through federal legislation that protects the peoples’ right to vote.

According to event organizers, these solutions include legislation that would require federal review of changes to state voting laws, strengthening checks and balances at the federal level and providing statehood for residents in Washington, D.C., who currently do not have representation in Congress.