rioters smashed the entryway.[1] Capitol Police dragged furniture to barricade the House Chamber doors against the mob attempting to break in; they then drew their guns to guard the doors.[2] Instructed to put on gas masks to protect against chemical agents, some Members called loved ones for fear that they would not survive the assault by President Trump’s insurrectionist mob.[3]
As Members on the House floor evacuated through the Speaker’s Lobby, rioters saw them and attempted to break through the barricaded glass door, which Capitol Police protected with their guns drawn. The officer at the door shot one woman attempting to break through, merely ten yards from the path where Members were being evacuated to safety from the House floor. Meanwhile, Members of Congress, press, and staff remained trapped in the Gallery, one floor up and fearing for their lives. When gunshots were heard outside the House Chamber, police screamed, “Get down! Get down!” and Members in the Gallery crawled to shelter behind chairs.[4]
Members and staff who were not on the House floor at the time of the siege were also in danger. Many barricaded themselves in their offices. Speaker Pelosi’s staff hid under a table with the lights turned off for hours while they could hear rioters outside in the Speaker’s office.[5] One Member asked his chief of staff to protect his visiting daughter and son-in-law “with her life”— which she did by standing guard at the door clutching a fire iron while his family hid under a table.[6]
- ↑ Lauren Leatherby et al., How a Presidential Rally Turned Into a Capitol Rampage, N.Y. Times (Jan. 12, 2021); CBS News, Video Shows Members of Congress Taking Cover in House Gallery (Jan. 6, 2021); Haley Britzky, This Army Ranger-Turned Congressman Was Last Out of the House Chamber During the Capitol Riots, Task and Purpose (Jan. 7, 2021).
- ↑ CNN, Lawmaker Describes Moment Captured in Dramatic Photo, YouTube (Jan. 6, 2021).
- ↑ Rep. Dan Killdee (@RepDanKildee), Twitter, (Jan. 6, 2021, 2:52 PM); Rose Minutaglio, Rep. Susan Wild On The ‘Sheer Panic’ She Felt In That Viral Photo, Elle (Jan. 7, 2021).
- ↑ Rose Minutaglio, Rep. Susan Wild On The ‘Sheer Panic’ She Felt In That Viral Photo, Elle (Jan. 7, 2021).
- ↑ Christina Zhao, Pelosi Gets Emotional Talking About Her Staffers Hiding Under Desks Amid Capitol Riot, Newsweek (Jan. 10, 2021).
- ↑ John Hendrickson, Jamie Raskin Lost His Son. Then He Fled a Mob, The Atlantic (Jan. 8, 2021).
