insurrectionists from overcoming Senators who remained just feet away.[1] After that, the violent mob inside the Capitol embarked on a deadly mission.
Videos of the events show that dozens of the insurrectionists specifically hunted Vice President Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—the first and second in the line of Presidential succession, respectively. “Once we found out Pence turned on us and that they had stolen the election, like, officially, the crowd went crazy,” said one rioter. “I mean, it became a mob.”[2] Rioters chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!”[3] Another shouted, “Mike Pence, we’re coming for you … fucking traitor!”[4] Others shouted, “Tell Pelosi we’re coming for that bitch.”[5] One rioter said that he and other rioters “kicked in Nancy Pelosi’s office door” and that “Crazy Nancy probably would have been torn into little pieces but she was nowhere to be seen.”[6]
The insurrectionists also menaced Members of Congress, their staffs, their families, and Capitol personnel. Senators were evacuated from their Chamber, scrambling quickly just as the mob massed nearby.[7] Rioters ultimately overpowered Capitol Police throughout the complex, forcing them to retreat closer and closer to where Members had sought safety. In the House, terrified Members were trapped in the Chamber; they prayed and tried to build makeshift defenses while
- ↑ Id.; Rebecca Tan, A Black Officer Faced Down a Mostly White Mob at the Capitol. Meet Eugene Goodman, Wash. Post (Jan. 14, 2021).
- ↑ Ashley Parker et al., How the Rioters Who Stormed the Capitol Came Dangerously Close to Pence, Wash. Post (Jan. 15, 2021).
- ↑ Peter Baker et al., Pence Reached His Limit with Trump. It Wasn’t Pretty, N.Y. Times (Jan. 12, 2021).
- ↑ Ryan Goodman & Justin Hendrix, “Fight for Trump”: Video Evidence of Incitement at the Capitol, Just Security (Jan. 25, 2021).
- ↑ Matthew S. Schwartz, As Inauguration Nears, Concern Of More Violence Grows, NPR (Jan. 9, 2021).
- ↑ David K. Li & Ali Gostanian, Georgia Lawyer Said He Kicked in Pelosi’s Door, She Could’ve Been ‘Torn into Little Pieces’, NBC News (Jan. 19, 2021).
- ↑ Marc Fisher et al., The Four-Hour Insurrection, Wash. Post (Jan. 7, 2021).
