In remarks on the anniversary of the insurgency at the Capitol, a former Trump White House staffer criticized the events of Jan. 6, 2021, as a “coup attempt” and claimed the former president “failed to meet the occasion.”

The riots from a year ago were “one of the worst days in American history,” according to Sarah Matthews, who served as a deputy press secretary in the Trump White House and quit on Jan. 6 over the day’s events.

“Make no mistake, the events of June 6th were a coup attempt, a phrase we’d use had they occurred in any other country,” Matthews stated in a Twitter thread. “While it may be easy to ignore or whitewash the situation.

Before entering the Trump administration in 2020, Matthews worked as a spokesperson for the Trump campaign. She is presently in charge of communications for the House Select Climate Committee’s Republicans.

Matthews resigned on the evening of Jan. 6, 2021, after a tumultuous mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent President Biden’s electoral victory from being certified.

On Thursday, Republicans largely avoided commemorating the riots’ anniversary. Some Republicans, like as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, accused Democrats of politicizing the insurgency by holding speeches and remembrances.