Caroline Edwards (born 1991) is an American officer of the United States Capitol Police who is known for defending the Capitol building and its occupants during the January 6 attack. She was the first Capitol Police officer to be injured by the mob of rioters on the day of the attack.
Edwards was stationed on the West front of the Capitol at the start of the attack. She signaled on the Capitol Police radio that her first responder unit needed help, and alerted several other officers around the Capitol that the police were being overrun by the mob. She was then pushed over with a bike rack by Ryan Samsel, and hit her head on a handrail, which cracked her skull and gave her a concussion, making her lose consciousness; she awoke minutes later and continued her defense, engaging in hand-to-hand combat for hours. Her concussion caused permanent traumatic brain injury effects. She testified to the House Select Committee investigating the attack in 2022 and was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by U.S. president Joe Biden in 2023.
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Early life
Caroline Edwards was born in 1991. She is the granddaughter of a United States Marine who fought in the Korean War. Edwards is from Atlanta, and attended the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. She graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in public relations.
Career
Edwards joined the United States Capitol Police, which protects the Capitol building in Washington D.C., in 2017. She was trained by officer Harry Dunn. She serves on the officers union board. By 2021, she had worked on "hundreds of civil disturbances" to the Capitol.
January 6 Capitol attack
On January 6, 2021, supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an attempted insurrection, hoping to overturn Congress' certification of Electoral College votes in the 2020 presidential election. The certification would confirm Trump's opponent, Joe Biden, to be the next President. The attack began around 1 p.m., when Trump finished speaking at Washington D.C.'s Ellipse park, and his supporters who were there started marching east towards the Capitol. This included members of the Proud Boys militia group. Capitol Police leaders knew of a threat to the Capitol but did not tell the stationed officers. At the time of the attack, Edwards was 31 and a private first class officer.
That day, Edwards had been stationed at the Peace Circle on the West front of the Capitol grounds, backed by four other officers in the first responder unit. Her group, like other Capitol Police officers, had been trained for riots, but her group was not fitted with riot gear that day. A nearby school bus containing riot gear was available but was locked, and officers were unsuccessful at opening it. Her group was also not behind a "universal fence" surrounding the building; instead, she was stationed behind a series of bike racks in front of a series of stone steps.
Edwards was the first Capitol Police officer to be injured by the incoming mob once they reached the Capitol grounds. At the beginning of the attack, a group of Arizona Proud Boys approached the Peace Circle barricade. Edwards called for help on the radio, which was heard by other officers around the building and was a sign that the mob was overrunning the police. She attempted to delay their approach towards the Capitol while backup was arriving. Proud Boys leader Joseph Biggs encouraged Ryan Samsel to approach the bike rack by which Edwards was posted. Samsel has denied this conversation happened. Samsel then pushed the bike rack over, which hit her on the head. This made her fall, and while falling, her chin hit the handrail of the steps behind her, causing a concussion which made her lose consciousness. She then hit the back of her head on one of the steps behind her, cracking it. The concussion gave her a traumatic brain injury. The mob then began attacking the other officers, who were pushed back. Edwards awoke minutes later while she was being picked up by Samsel, and then she shook him off and began treating the injured on the scene, such as decontaminating those who were pepper-sprayed. She then continued the defense, rushing to support the officers who had been pushed back and were holding a line in the Capitol's lower West Terrace. She felt confused and dizzy while doing it. She then engaged with the mob in hand-to-hand combat for hours. While fighting, she was teargassed and pepper-sprayed in her eyes. She later said that in her training she was taught to control riots but not to do hand-to-hand combat. She later testified to Congress: