House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is talking about what she would have done if she had not been evacuated by her security from the House chamber in time as protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Speaking with USA Today, the House speaker was asked if she was frightened by the idea of not being evacuated in time.
“Well, I’m pretty tough. I’m a street fighter,” Pelosi said. “They would have had a battle on their hands.”
The top Democratic lawmaker then said with a laugh that she “would have had these” to use as weapons, referring to her 4-inch-high stilettos.
Pelosi previously shared her experience during the riot, telling CBS’ Lesley Stahl:
“When the protesters were making the assault on the Capitol — before they even got to these doors — the Capitol Police pulled me from the podium and I was concerned because I said, ‘No, I want to be here. And they said, ‘Well, no, you have to leave.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not leaving.’ [They said,] ‘No, you must leave.’”
“What happened was a terrible, terrible violation … of the legislative branch by the President of the United States,” she said at the time. Some protesters also made their way into her office on Jan. 6.
Federal prosecutors said in January a man from New York — who was part of the Capitol mob — was arrested on several charges, including allegedly talking about killing Pelosi and now-former Vice President Mike Pence.
During her USA Today interview, Pelosi also spoke about if the effort to create a special 9/11-style commission for the Capitol riot fell flat, saying she would then look at potentially establishing a select committee to investigate the riot.
“It’s always an option,” she said. “It’s not my preference in any way. My preference would be to have a commission.”
Following Jan. 6, the House of Representatives voted to impeach former President Donald Trump on the charge of inciting an insurrection. He was acquitted by the Senate.
