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Local veteran asked by committee to testify in Jan. 6 hearing

PITTSBURGH — We first met Walt Lang days after the Jan. 6 attack on our nation’s capital. The veteran originally from Bethel Park hand-delivered a plaque made out of Potomac marble as a peace offering to the Capitol Police in Washington, D.C. Then, nearly two years later, he says he got a phone call he could have never seen coming. It was from the January 6 Committee.

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“They called — they got a hold of us that way,” Lang said. “Someone saw the original story you did and asked if we would be interested in either going down there. We went back and forth about what to do, whether or not to do it.”

Walt says the committee asked if he would testify and wanted to know about his experience as a veteran and citizen.

“I had a lot of questions,” Lang added. “What am I going to do? What am I supposed to say? I am still ashamed of what happened. To me, Jan. 6 is still one of the darkest moments in our nation’s history. I just don’t understand why it happened.”

Lang tells Channel 11 he was also concerned about retaliation and his family’s safety. Ultimately, he decided if the committee needed him, they’d know where to find him and he’d continue his fight for freedom.

“I’d show up with bells on and make my thoughts clear to them,” Lang continued. “It seems like it just started with Jan. 6 and it just snowballed. I don’t know where it’s going to end. It just keeps going on and on and on.”

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