'I'll Never Forget That Feeling': Lawmakers Recount Capitol Riot Experience 100 Days Later
Congressmembers are recalling “that feeling” they experienced on Jan. 6 when protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
“All of a sudden, a police officer with a big bulletproof vest and a submachine gun across his waist grabs me firmly by the collar. I’ll never forget that feeling, and he says, ‘We’re in danger,'” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told NBC News’ Frank Thorp V.
It has been 100 days since the events at the Capitol in January occurred. Congressmembers were formally certifying the Electoral College vote count when protesters descended on the Capitol. Then-Vice President Mike Pence was removed from the Senate chamber at the time.
Five people died in the Capitol riot.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told Thorp as he recalled his experience on Jan. 6, “That’s when I was most frustrated and angry, angry at those who had gone along with the big lie, and told the American people that the election had been stolen. And I pointed to a couple of people who had participated in that ruse, and said, ‘You have caused this.'”
“I hope that I and others who come here will remember that when we succumb to untruths as a nation, that it can lead to violence and even death as it did,” he said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spoke to NBC News, saying, “Seeing the dramatic effect it had on my staff is something that will live with me forever, and for which I will never forgive them.”
She said of the pro-Trump protesters, “They failed. They failed in stopping the certification of a president of the United States. And they did so because members had the courage to come back.”
Additionally, Capitol Police Lt. Rani E. Brooks spoke about the mob, “We’re all in there together, trying to hold that door. Even though it was locked, you know, the lock got breached,” Brooks told Thorp.
Brooks added:
“It was awful. I mean, and that went on for about three hours and the commander kept saying, ‘Hold on, hold on, help’s on the way, help’s on the way.’ That was the only thing that kept me going … the two and a half, three hours … it literally and figuratively, it was forever.”
Officer Anthony M. Booth declared that Capitol Police “didn’t fail” as “every member of Congress” was protected and not one lawmaker “was hurt with a scratch that day.” Also, Booth noted that every staffer that was there was also protected, Booth told NBC News.
“The only casualties we had were obviously officers, but at the end of the day, we did our job,” Booth said.
As of Thursday, 419 people have been arrested and charged following the Capitol insurrection so far, according to Insider.
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