Bennie Thompson in spotlight of hearings: 'Jan. 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup.'

Bennie Thompson, one of Mississippi's most enduring political mainstays over the last half-century, held the prime role in primetime newscasts across America on Thursday night.

The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol, which Thompson chairs, held its first public hearing nearly a year after it began investigating the riot and insurrection that occurred during congressional certification of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.

While the committee is made up of nine members — seven Democrats and two Republicans — Thompson and Republican vice-chair Liz Cheney of Wyoming were the only members to speak. Their statements were accompanied by numerous pieces of video evidence and testimony, along with two eye-witnesses who testified in-person.

Over the course of the two-hour hearing, Thompson, Mississippi's lone Democratic member of Congress, made a number of notable comments including the ones below:

For subscribers: 'No intentions of ever coming back': Chef's odyssey led him home to Southern fine dining

Read this: Severe weather expected in Jackson area Friday. Follow the updates here.

Thompson's opening statement

"I'm Bennie Thompson, chairman of the January 6 2021 committee. I was born, raised and still live in Bolton, Mississippi. A town with a population of 521 which is midway between Jackson and Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the Mississippi River. I'm from a part of the country where people justified the actions of slavery, the Ku Klux Klan, and lynching. I'm reminded of that dark history as I hear voices today try to justify the actions of the insurrectionists on January 6, 2021," Thompson said.

Former President Donald Trump's "last stand"

"January 6th was the culmination of an attempted coup. A brazen attempt, as one rioter put it shortly after Jan. 6, 'to overthrow the government.' It represents President Trump's last stand, (and) most desperate chance to halt the transfer of power," Thompson said.

Addressing criticism that the committee is partisan

"We can’t sweep what happened under the rug. The American people deserve answers. So I come before you this evening not as a Democrat, but as an American who swore an oath to defend the Constitution. The Constitution doesn’t protect just Democrats or just Republicans. It protects all of us: ‘We the People.’ And this scheme was an attempt to undermine the will of the people," Thompson said.

What makes America great

"There are those in this country who thirst for power but have no love or respect for what makes America great: allegiance to the constitution," Thompson said.

Thompson thanks Cheney

"It has been a particular privilege to count as a colleague, and as my friend, the gentlewoman from Wyoming," Thompson said.

Thompson thanks Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards

"Let me thank you for your service and obviously your bravery that you have told the world about tonight. It's unfortunate that you had to defend the capitol from fellow Americans. None of us would ever think that would have to happen but it did," Thompson said.

The next hearing will take place at 9 a.m. on Monday, June 13, according to the committee website. It will focus on Trump's campaign to convince people that the 2020 election was fraudulent or stolen, despite evidence to the contrary.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi Rep. Thompson takes lead on Jan. 6 capitol attack committee