before deploying national guard several people were on that list including the vice president for the trump was not on that list and you know as a veteran. i find it deeply dishonorable that our commander in chief did not protect us and then later he tries to take credit for something he failed to do. shameful also in that video you should know what it did not say absent from that tired video was any actual acceptance of responsibility for his actions absent from that video was a call to his most fervent supporters to never do this again and here is his final message in that so called condemnation of attack video here's what he actually said and to all of my wonderful supporters i know you are disappointed but i also want you to know that our incredible journey is only just beginning.

now only failed to show remorse or take accountability he made clear he is just beginning for days he did not address the nation after this attack we needed our commander in chief to lead to unite a grieving country to comfort us but what the president from do nothing. silence we are all where the a violent mob murdered a police officer it took president trump 3 days before he lowered the flag of united states of america 3 days and president who was commander in chief at the time did not attend and pay respects to the officer who lay in state in the very building that he died defending.

now some people have argued that president trump made a mistake and he gets a mulligan. but we know president trum didn't make a mistake because you see when you or i make a mistake and something very bad happens we would show remorse we would accept responsibility present trying to do any of that why not because he intended what happened on january sex and how do we know that he told us on january 12th as president trump was boarding air force one to head to texas and you saw this video before and i'm going to show it again he was asked by a reporter quote what is your role in what happened at the capitol what is your personal responsibility and this was i that was

a loss by face in my words and my final paragraph by final sentence and everybody did the day thought it was totally appropriate. and general 12 president trump had seen the violent attack on the capitol he knew the people that died and his message to the whole of us was that his conduct was totally appropriate i'm a former prosecutor and we're trained to recognize lack of remorse but it doesn't take a prosecutor understand that president trump was not showing remorse he was showing defiance. he was telling us that he would do this again that he could do this again that he had a future presidents can run for national election lose the lection inflame the supporters for months and then incite an insurrection in that that would be totally

appropriate. one week after the attack on jan 13th president from in response to continuing bipartisan criticism releases and other video here's part of what he said i want to be very clear i unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement for the truck of course had to make that statement he needed to a new crudely condemn the attack but he also didn't need to demean those words you saw donald trump tweet and this attacks sometimes 108 tweets in a day and in public speeches and across rallies repeating words of fight and stop the studio and never surrender you know what it looks like when president from wants to convey a message forcefully loudly and repeatedly he does that this video sent after

a week of the attack was not that and we know this because in this video he again does not show remorse those not take responsibility he again does not acknowledge his row in the insurrection he does not say in the video for example everything i said in the months prior went too far and he does not say the one sentence that matters she does not say the one sentence that would stop future political violence the lection was not stolen she still hasn't said that sentence that is why national guard troops and full body armor still patrol outside reports on the white house also confirm that president trump believed he was quote forced by the bipartisan fear africanus are rushing to acknowledge the new administration we know he did not stand behind his belated come nation because

those around him confirmed it. and behind closed doors sources confirm that president from still refuse to directly acknowledge is you joe biden and refused to even a 10 day peaceful transition of power the 1st president in modern history president from even reportedly watching the impeachment vote quote focus this hour on republicans who voted for his impeachment peppering aides with questions about what he could do to exact revenge for his interim has made clear that if he is not held accountable he will not be accountable he will not stop now president would have his base and the world believe that his conduct was totally appropriate it is important to impeach that falsehood to make clear

to his supporters and everyone watching that what donald trump did was not acceptable in fact quite the opposite people in his own party state officials former officials current officials members of congress have all unambiguous lee and passionately said that what donald trump did was quote disgraceful shameful and it called his behavior existential and wrong and they said that his actions gave rise to one of the darkest chapters and united states history let's hear what some of these officials had to say here governor spencer cox charlie baker mike de wine larry hogan and phil scott. people have to be held accountable and yes that

includes the president for a new member that there were the culmination of months of president trump repeating over and over again that the american led to a system is a fraud. after we started the flames of our relief for weeks leading up to the events of yesterday infused to adequately prepare the u.s. capitol for the possibility of violence and left the newly defenseless his remarks during after the travesty of the attack on the capitol were disgraceful present trump's continued refusal to accept the election results about producing credible evidence re direction and start a fire that is threaten to burn down our democracy this incendiary speech yesterday when he gave proceeding. the march that he gave to the protesters served only to fan those flames i

proudly stood by my father's side and age 12 on the floor of the house chamber. as we both took the oath of office an oath to support and defend. the constitution of the united states. it's clear to me that president trump has abandoned this sacred of. seeing our capital a symbol of democracy around the world stormed by that angry mob was heartbreaking . let me be clear these actions were not patriotic and these people are not patriots that in fact these claims are paid insurrection were lit by the president of the united states what we remember is one of the darkest chapters in our nation's history one of the darkest chapters era

nation's history former members of the troubling ministration long standing republicans also made clear that president trump incited this answer russian and it went against our democracy. the president former secretary defense james mattis the clear that today's violent assault on our capital and effort to subjugate american democracy by mob rule was fomented by mr trump former white house chief of staff john kelly also spoke on this as well and i'd like to play an audio clip of what he said what happened on capitol hill just as a direct result. of people with a lot of the fraud. if you can hear that what john connolly has said about president trump was that what happened on capitol hill was

a direct result of him poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the fraud former speaker of the house john boehner declared that quo invasion of our capitol by a mob incited by lies from some entrusted with power is this grace to all who sacrifice to build our republic this was echoed by former top official after former trial official here is what former nascar devices john bolton h r n mcmaster former white house communications director alyssa farah and former chief of stack mick mulvaney said let me just ask you do you think president trump has blood on his hands. i think he does look i agree with bill barr i think he did incite this mob with the clear intention of having them disrupt the electoral college certification and delay it to give him more time i

don't think there's any question about it there are many reasons for this assault on the capitol but for most among them was the president's exhortations was the president sustained this information we've seen a president stoking fears amidst these crises in 1st and foremost i want to say that what happened at the capitol was unacceptable un-american undemocratic i think everybody recognizes that what happened on wednesday is different you can go down the long litany of things that people complained about with donald trump but i could probably defend almost all of the many of them were policy differential differences many of them were stylistic differences but wednesday was different wednesday was existential wednesday is one of those things that struck to the very heart of what it means to be an american and it was wrong mick mulvaney president trump's former chief of staff is clearly saying what we all felt that jerry 6 was different it was existential

it was wrong it was on america and this sentiment was echoed not just from people outside the ministration but from people inside the trump ministration perhaps most telling was the flood of resignations from people inside president trumps ministration with 1st an access to president trump his own officials felt so betrayed by his conduct the numerous officials resigned in protest days before the end of prison trumps term 16 officials resigned in protest 16. they all took this dramatic action of resigning because they saw the clear link between president trump's conduct and the violent insurrection here is some of what they said us who was

in this race an entire term president trump and his in her resignation letter that quote there is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation and it is an inflection point for me surgery chow was an administration their entire term explained yesterday our country experience a traumatic and entirely avoidable event as supporters of the president stormed the capitol building following a rally he addressed as i'm sure is the case with many of you it is deeply troubled me in a way i simply cannot set aside because delo told his associates that tag was his quote breaking point and he hoped quote a wake up call these rebukes and resignations from president trump's own ministration make clear their presence trumps conduct was anything but totally

appropriate they also remind us that this can and must be a wake up call as representative fred upton so eloquently put it present from express no regrets for last week's violent insurrection at the u.s. capitol this sense exactly the wrong saying no to those of us who support the very core of our democratic principles and took a solemn oath to the constitution it is time to say enough is enough now no one is saying here the president from cannot contest the election of course he can or president tran did as his former chief of staff explained was different. it was this honorable it was un-american and it resulted in fatalities president trump spent months inflaming his supporters

spread lies inside a violent attack on our capital on our law enforcement and on all of us and then he lied again to his base to tell them that this was all ok that this was all acceptable and that is why a president is so dangerous because he had a p. would have all of us all americans believe that any president who comes after him can do exactly the same thing that's why lack of remorse is an important factor in impeachment because impeachment conviction and disqualification is not just about the past it's about the future it's making sure that no future official no future president does the same exact thing president trump does prison terms like him or shows that he will undoubtedly cause future harm if allowed because he still refuses to account for his previous high grade

crime against our government you know i'm not afraid of donald trump running again in 4 years i'm afraid he's not running again and lose because he can do this again we're in an unusual situation because despite president trump's claim that everyone thinks what he did was fine so many have come out and spoken so strongly passionately about what happened here. like to highlight statement by representative ethically gonzales he said. the vice president both chambers of congress had their lives put in grave danger as a result of the president's actions and the events leading up to in january 6. during the attack itself the president abandoned his post while many members asked for help those furthering endangering all present these are fundamental threats not

just to people's lives but to the very foundation of our republic and now i like to show what members of congress said leading up to the most bipartisan impeachment vote in u.s. history because i do want everyone watching especially president trump supporters to see firsthand what i believe we all feel that what president trump did was not appropriate that it was not american and that it absolutely can not stand. down in here is something that we've never seen before and i agree although we did change the president has become not just from his. the reality of the president's role in this insurrection is undeniable but on social media had january 6 and in his speech that day he deliberately promoted baseless theories creating a combustible environment of misinformation and division to allow the president not

at states to incite this attack but our consequences as a direct threat to the future of this democracy after this trial i hope you'll come together and cast your vote and make absolutely clear how we as a congress and as a nation feel about what donald trump did by convicting him and to prevent this from being only the beginning as president trump said and to deter future presidents who do not like the outcome of a national election from believing they can follow and president trumps footsteps it is what our constitutional requires is what our country these herbs. represented to get will now return to show how extremists were emboldened by the

insurrection and plan to attack the inauguration. my colleagues have showed the overwhelming evidence of how a president trumps contact assembled and sided and inflame the mob we showed how and why this attack this violence was not only foreseeable but preventable we showed that president knew his conduct could and would result in violence and that when the attack occurred he did not fulfill his duty as commander in chief and defend us instead he was delighted

donald trump incited a violent insurrection and he failed to defend our nation our capital this congress and our law enforcement from the attacks the inside it now i want to turn to the impact the long term harm of this conduct my colleagues and i will walk through the breadth and gravity of this harm i'd like to start with the effect president trump's conduct had on our domestic security we saw firsthand how donald trump's conduct emboldened and ask elated domestic violence extremists these folks are known in the law enforcement community as d v d's they start somewhere and are made worse by president trumps

refusal to take accountability and his refusal to forcibly denounce what his own f.b.i. identified as some of the most dangerous elements of our country. even as the attack was underway he tweeted words of support to his violent supporters and that i'm in the aftermath on january 7th president trump made it clear this was only the beginning and do all of my wonderful supporters i know you are disappointed but i also want you to know that our incredible journey is only just beginning and he was right unless we take action the violence is only just beginning and the aftermath of the attack we saw a huge rise in threats to our from domestic violent extremists including

specific threats to the inauguration in d.c. and also to all 50 state capitols our intelligence agencies confirmed that in addition to the specific threats president tromps conduct embolden the very same violent groups who initiated the attack and sparked new violent coalitions these groups believe that they're following his orders they believe that their acts of insurrection and violence are patriotic violence is never patriotic and it's never american it's not the democratic way and it's not the republican way. after the attack the nation's top defense and law enforcement agencies reported an increase in credible threats to the inauguration from donald trump supporters on january 13th 2021 a joint intelligence bulletin issued by the department of homeland security the

f.b.i. and the national counterterrorism center found quote since the 6 january event violent online rhetoric regarding the 20 january presidential inauguration has increased with some colling for i'm specified quote justice for the 6 january fatal shooting by law enforcement of a participant who had even legal lee entered the capitol building and another posting that quote many armed individuals would return on 19 january the agencies also made clear why these threats were escalating especially regarding the inauguration the report explained that a primary motivating factor was quote the shared thoughts narrative of a stolen election and opposition to the change in control of the executive and

legislative branches of the federal government may lead some individuals to adopt the belief that there is no political solution to address that their grievances and that violent action is necessary in other words president trump spreading of inflammatory just information about the election incited the insurrection on january 6th and may lead to further violence on why just as they did prior to the january 6th attack trump supporters took to the internet to organize and document their desire m. plans for future violence at president biden's inauguration. and indeed in the days shortly after the attack several posters on extremist social media websites made further plans for violence they posted quote many of us will return on january 19th 2021 carrying our weapons in support of our nation's resolve to

which the world will never forget we will come in numbers no standing army or police agency can match quote we took the building once and we can take it again other users eager to participate in additional attacks confirmed that they were waiting on president trump's instructions about what to do next referring to a future planned attack a user on the online platform known as gab posted quote i'd like to come to this but want to know does our president want us there awaiting instructions in fact in the days leading up to the inauguration multiple individuals potentially many potentially in attempt to carry out the plots that i just previewed were arrested in washington d.c. including on serious weapons charges one of those men was couey griffin the founder

of cowboys for trump who took part in the capitol attack and was also arrested on january 17th here's what he said for his about his plans for violence you know you want to say that i was a dog you want to say that was a bad words no sir no way that we could have a 2nd of every rally on the same steps that we had that rally yesterday you know if we do. is going to be a sad day because these do need blood running down that building but if you do the day you mark my word we will play to our flag on the desk and then see what as you charge here. blood running out of that building this building the capitol where all of us are right now now the name could griffin may sound familiar because he previously faced

controversy for a may 2020 video where he said quote the only good democrat is a dead group democrat hear it from him yourself. now when he said us president trot actually retreated griffen and thank him for that sentiment when donald trump retreated this he was no stranger to griffin in fact in march to 2019 over a year earlier griffin and trump had spoken on the phone for nearly 30 minutes president trump's conduct without a doubt made it clear that he supported griffin in fact griffin even said so himself as griffin later sad about president trumpery tweeting his inflammatory

comment about the dead democrats quote it really means a lot to me because i know the president of the united states has my back remember this is a man who was here on january 6th who was arrested after threatening to come back here to make blood come running out of this building threats like griffons have triggered a deployment of forces the likes of which we have never seen. there were approximately 25000 national guard troops brought in from around the country to protect d.c. leading up to and on inauguration day as you know many of those troops are still here take a look at that. these

are scenes that played out all over the country 5 days following the siege on the capitol on january 11th 2021 the f.b.i. warned that quote arm protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 january through at least 20 january and at the u.s. capitol from 17 january through 20 january as a result at least 21 states activated their national guards in preparation for potential attacks. president tribe's incitement has reverberated around the country prompting massive law enforcement mobilization in several state capitals including washington illinois michigan and georgia. look at these photos this is what donald trump has done to america. this massive deployment of law enforcement has cost the taxpayers dearly the national guard

deployment to d.c. alone is expected to cost at least $480000000.00 the bills are already also racking up in the states north carolina south carolina pennsylvania utah and wisconsin have each spent about a half a $1000000.00 to safeguard their capitals in the run up to the inauguration ohio spent $1200000.00 over the same 2 week period and remember this is at a time when state budgets are already suffering under the weight of the pandemic our brave service member showed up thanks to their dedication and their vigilance to not to ration in the days leading up to it mercifully proceeded without incident in fact after news broke of law enforcement's preparedness for further attacks leaders

of the proud boys the 3 percent or smallish act the organizers of the 1000000 macca march they are now told their followers to avoid protests up to or leading up to the inauguration for fear that law enforcement would crush them and arrest rioters who showed up. thank god there wasn't an insurrection sequel here on january 20th. but look at the price we've paid the price that we're still paying it's not just dollars and cents this capital has become a fortress at stake capitol state capitols have all across the country our constituents no longer have access to the elected representatives every democrat and republican including people who came here on january 6th peacefully is paying the price and it's not just a loss of access it's a dimming of their freedom it's

a dimming of all of our freedom we must uphold our oaths as the 10s of thousands of law enforcement officers have done in the wake of january 6th because if we do not president trump's mob stands ready for more attacks now this should be no surprise having a commander in chief who incites violence has given life to the existing violent groups he spent years cultivating and has inspired new coalitions among extremist groups who actually view january as a success according to the f.b.i. president trump's assemblage of his mob was particularly dangerous because quote in person engagement between d.v.d.'s of differing india logical goals during the capital breach likely serve to foster connections which may increase divi ease willingness capability and motivation to attack and undermine

a government they view as illegitimate. in other words they all got to talking to each other this bulletin by our own intelligence committee was also confirmed by concrete evidence rioter celebrated their roles in the january 6th attack on social media they boasted about their success in breaching the capital and forcing members of congress and the vice president to evacuate take for example right wing provocateur who are nick fuentes the day before the capitol insurrection fuente said this on his internet show where he knew what i was needless to say as you know a lot you should know by now but i mean you know my. friend case was at the capitol on january 6th and praise the insurrection on a life stream as glorious and awe inspiring he later said quote we forced

a joint session of congress and the vice president to evacuate because trump supporters were banging down and then successfully burst through the doors when taste was not the only provoke a tour to revel in the violence according to my dad a member of the boogaloo boys and anti-government movement whose ed harris helped to lead multiple groups in storming the capitol the boogaloo boys will be quote working overtime to capitalize on the january 6th riots and hope it will lead to more action they said quote just now there's more to come. crowd noise members were bragging about the attack on the capital one post on the proud boy's telegram channel said people say s'sa'id what we can do they know what we're up to they know and we they want in the leader of the proud boys himself sent the same message and recreate taria oh said the proud boys would be active during biden's

presidency taria stated you're definitely going to see more of us extremist groups are also boasting that the attack on our capital is a boon for their recruitment efforts 3 percent security force leader chris hill says he's been contacted by several people interested in joining since the interact and sarette sion and as one expert who focuses on domestic extremism jared holt explained by all measurable effects this was a far right extremist one of the most successful attacks that they've ever launched they're talking about this as the 1st stab in a greater revolution. and as indicated by mr holt their perceived success has given them an encouragement to continue and to ask the late attacks intelligence agencies have also noted that these extremist groups will unfortunately be targeting

vulnerable minority communities in the u.s. a january 27th 2021 d h s bulletin warned quote longstanding racial and ethnic tension of the sort that led to a man killing $23.00 people at an el paso wal-mart will continue to grow and motivate further attacks the january 13th joint intelligence bulletin report stated that in addition to the other types of violence listed d.v. may be incited to carry out more violence including violence against racial ethnic and religious minorities and associated institutions journalists members of the l g b t q plus community and other targets common among some d.v.d.'s. these prejudiced elements could be seen visibly in the attack that in the crowd that attacked the capitol. picture here is robert packer robert packer

isn't a valid white supremacist and holocaust denier who proudly wore that sweat shirt which states quote camp auschwitz these prejudiced elements could also be heard from the crowds as you've heard the insurrectionists that attacked the capitol on january 6th hurled racial slurs including at black police officers one officer described the trauma he experienced when the rioters seized the capital he said quote i'm a black officer there was a lot of racism that day i was called racial slurs and in the moment i didn't process this is traumatic i was just trying to survive i just wanted to get home to see my daughter again i couldn't show weakness fine i finally reached a safe place surrounded by officers i was able to cry to let it out

to attempt to process it these extremist groups who are in bolted because president trump told them repeatedly that there is this insurrectionist activities where the pinnacle of patriotism. well let today be the day that really we reclaim the definition of patriotism impeachment is not to punish but to prevent we are not here to tarnish donald trump we are here to prevent the seeds of hatred that he planted from bearing any more fruit as my colleague showed this was not the 1st time that president trump in 5 inspired violence but it must be the last time that he's given a platform to do so this must be our wake up call we must condemn it

because the threat is not over. president trump refused to condemn this type of violence instead oh for and over again he's encouraged it our response must be different this time we simply cannot sweep this under the rug we must take a united stand all of us that this is not american think back to august 27th teen when a young woman was murdered during a white supremacist rally in charlottesville west virginia her name was heather higher her mother's name is susan bro miss pro has been a steadfast advocate for her daughter's memory in a 28000 interview she expressed concern that people had rushed too quickly to reconciliation without accountability.

she rushed to heal he rushed to everybody grab each other and think oh by the way of accomplishing nothing i will be right back here in a few years we will be right back here in a few years those were her words and 20183 years ago her daughter's murder he he was held to account. but our nation did not impose any meaningful accountability on a president who at the time said that there was there were very fine people on both sides and now where are we for 3 years later i'd argue we're not just back where we were i would argue things are worse and 2017 it was unfathomable to most of us to think that charlottesville could happen just as it was unfathomable to most of us that the capitol could have been breached on

january 6th frankly what unfathomable horrors await us if we do not stand up now and say no this is not america and we will not just express condolences and denunciations we won't just close the book and try to move on we will act to make sure this never happens again. representative says selenium lou will now come to show the harm done and the damage done to congress and our democratic process mr says when.

mr president senior senators you just heard from my colleague manager to get how the conduct of donald trump dramatically increased the threats to our security and embolden violent domestic extremists i'd like to now turn to the harm that will those caused here inside these walls as a result of the conduct on january 6th the harm to us to congress to those who serve our country and to the constitutional process sees as the trump mob tried to stop the election certification process. the attack on january 6th is one of the bloodiest intrusions in the capital since the british invaded in the war of $1812.00 and burned it to the ground. and you've heard in painstaking

detail the president's mob posed an immediate and serious threat to the continuity and constitutional succession of the united states government as the 1st 2nd and 3rd in line to the presidency the vice president the speaker of the house the president pro tem all together and faced a common threat in the same location and we've seen the 1st and the 2nd were purposely targeted by these attackers these weren't idle threats the mob as you have heard chanted hang mike pence. the charging documents show that the rioters said they would have killed vice president pence and speaker pelosi had they found them dawn bancroft and diane santos smith 2 of the riders charged in the attack were caught on tape discussing

the brutal violence that they hope to inflict on speaker pelosi has she not been rushed out to safety they said quote we broke into the capitol we got inside we did our part we were looking for nancy to shoot her in the frigging brain but we didn't find her and quote centers simply put this mob was trying to overthrow our government and they came perilously close to reaching the 1st 3 people in line to the presidency it wasn't just the vice president and the speaker riders were prepared to tack any member of congress they found. thomas edward caldwell donovan ray croll and jessica marie watkins 3 militia members were also charged for their role in the attack they just cus trapping us inside the underground tunnels the indictment called social media chatter with caldwell quote all members are in the tunnel under capital seal them in turn on gas all

legislators are down in the tunnels 3 floors down do like we had to do when i was in the corps and start tearing out floors go from top to bottom and quote never did any of us imagine that we are colleagues would face mortal peril by a mob riled up by the president of the united states the leader of the free world but we did it all because donald trump could not accept the election defeat trump chose himself above the people above our institutions above our democracy above all of you. you know we've heard from a spouse for years now this is america 1st policy but his true north star isn't america's well being it's not country 1st like our dear departed colleague john

mccain no he is directive is trumped 1st no matter the cost no matter the threat to our democracy but each and every $1.00 of us in this room must agree on one thing we can never allow the kind of violent attack occurred on january 6th to ever happen again in this country in the immediate aftermath we heard really disturbing accounts from many members of congress about what they experienced that day here are some of those reactions. following the attack representative dusty johnson expressed concerns that we had gotten to the point where so many of us had sown the seeds of anger and division we were barricaded and there was some fear to be sure but overwhelmingly the emotion

that i experienced was one of anger i just could not believe that this was happening i could not believe that we had gotten to this point where so many of us are so new seeds of anger and vision and we had built this powder keg and really we were starting to see. a light and it was frankly i was curious representative jason crowe compared the events of this day to his time in afghanistan as an army ranger something senator reid knows something about and what i fell in the capitol behind us is something that i haven't felt since i was in afghanistan as an army ranger and to think that as a member of congress and 2021 in the u.s. capitol on the house floor that i was preparing to fight my way out of the people's house against the mob is just beyond troubling. representative pat fallon was humbled by his experience on january 6th and described the events as

surreal as they unfolded here in the capital it was something that i just never thought there i just never thought i'd see this in in our nation's capital and particularly in the house chamber was a it was surreal when it was unfolding you know it. would interesting was the bravery and the courage of some of my fellow members when we got to a point where the mob was banging on the doors and all that kept them from reaching that the chamber itself was the doors and then some furniture that we had moved in some capitol police and they needed to be augmented and so tony gonzalez a new freshman referent texas and ronnie jackson detroit nels and mark wayne mullin stepped in and we broke off part or to or some of the hands and a tighter station on the big giant poles wooden poles 'd and we turn them upside down and we're ready to actually have the street fight in the house chamber was

unbelievable. any members that day wondered if they would ever see their families again as the rioters breached the capitol and they were outnumbered trapped inside and were calling loved ones to say goodbye everything and dan kildee was one of them listen to how he described the impact of the riot on him. or trying to. all. you know we all took turns on. you know. the. congress. isn't. willing to. call. your. well most coverage is focused on the extreme danger posed to members in the capitol

police who are targets of this attack there are lots of other people in the capital working on january 6th as well personal aides to floor employees cleaning staff food service workers we can't forget all the people that were in harm's way that day these employees experienced trauma some coward hiding in places just feet feet away from where this rabid crowd had assembled many were just kids 20 somethings who came into work because they believed in their country and they believed in working to make it better others were dedicated food and service workers all work incredibly hard to make sure that we can come here and do our jobs these workers are the life blood of the legislative branch they deserve better you weren't heard from speaker pelosi staff the staff that was hiding under the

conference table cowering in the dark making sure that the attackers couldn't hear them but i like to share with you and some other staffers went through listen as to staffers recall what they experienced that day. but then we were seeing on twitter on our phones and and hearing from some of the police officers on the floor that but you know the building had been breached. the building breached those were 2 words i had never heard that was particularly stressful being in a room. close. to where things are happening and not really knowing what was happening. and seen come and live and getting texts from people all the you know are you ok and truthfully i didn't know what what was happening i heard. shots fired shots fired shots fired show me

your hands from your hands and then i did not know if they were right outside if they were watts of people with weapons if there were one shooter or if they had you know i didn't know what it looked like i just knew that there were shots fired. outside of the house chamber according to reports one republican senate staffer whose office was not far from the floor quote took a steel rod and barricaded his door as the rioters banged on his door trying to break in the new york times also reported that a senior black staffer was on the lockdown for 6 hours during insurrection was so disturbed about these events that she quit her job another staffer who was on the floor of the house that day described what happened on january 16th all echoes in his mind listen to him describe the moments just before this indelible image.

heard glass break and i could see the. the the window panes on the house main door start to pop and i figured that you know obviously i knew they were at the door and they figured out a way to break the glass and the last thing i remember before i walked off the floor was. several of the police officers had drawn their guns and had their guns trained on the door you know clearly that was. i didn't think there's anything else i could do and i didn't want to be there for whatever it was about to occur so i got to the top of the stairs the stairway was it was pretty packed and right about that point i don't know whether it was a police officer or somebody else out there right behind us run for me the thing that i keep thinking about it again there isn't a day that has gone by since january 6th that some point today i haven't kind of gone back in and picked up some little thing but the sound of those windowpanes

popping. i will forget that sound i won't forget that sound how long will the sound of windowpanes breaking haunt the staffer and he isn't alone there are countless people who are still living with the trial of what happened that day this includes by the way another group of people who are with us in the capital on that day and that's the press they were in danger particularly after years of being derided by president trump as fake news christian wilson a reporter for c.n.n. recently tweeted about her experience she said i have 14 people on my team we were scattered everywhere 2 of them were on crutches and couldn't have run if they had to they had to anyway one was trapped in the house chamber and had to crawl out to hide 4 of us barricade ourselves in a room off the senate chamber every bang on the door of them trying to come through

i can still hear in my head the general toral and custodial staff of the capitol the people who day after day 10 to our home away from home were also traumatize but we don't talk about them and the harm they suffered often enough one jenna tauriel worker recounted i was so scared that he had to hide in a closet during the attack he said quote i was all by myself i didn't know what was going on and quote another employee a mother of 3 said the insurrection shattered all my sense of security at or. and then employ the capital quote i hope nothing else happens because these people are talking about killing us killing federal employees killing police another employee was afraid to work on inauguration day said quote i honestly fear for my life i've got 2 children at home and quote. for many of the black and

brown staff the trauma was made worse by the many painful symbols of hate that were on full display that day insurrectionist waved confederate flags and hurled the most disgusting racial slurs a dedicated capitol workers then after all of that he's saying workers many of them people of color were forced to clean up the mess left by mobs of white nationalists one member of the general staff reflected how terrible he felt when he had to clean up feces that had been smeared on the wall blood of a rider who had died and broken glass and other objects strewn all of the floor he said i felt bad i felt degraded. let's also not forget that this violent attack happened in the middle of a global pandemic social distancing was impossible as we were hiding for our lives

in cramped quarters for long periods of time since january 6th at least 7 members who he had with other members of congress have tested positive for covert 19 at least 38 capitol police officers have either tested positive or been exposed and nearly 200 national guard troops who were deployed to our nation's capital to provide all of us protection have tested positive for the capitol police and the national guard came here to keep us safe to serve and they put their lives in danger they deserved better than this we all did it that brings me to the next time now all of us in this room made it out alive but not everyone was so lucky 3 law enforcement officers tragically lost their lives as a result of the riot ungenerous 6 these officers kept capitol police officer brian sic nick. capitol police officer howard leven good and metropolitan police officer

jeffrey smith all honorably served to protect and defend my colleague mr swallow told you about officers sic nick he was a 42 year old military veteran who dedicated his entire life to public service and january 60 fought a mob of rioters as the streams in the capital and ultimately lost his life protecting us. that we've been that was a 15 year veteran of the capitol police his father served as sergeant in arms here in the senate and obviously we've been good followed his extraordinary example of public service officer smith served for 12 years with the metropolitan police department heed the call of duty on january 6th by coming to stand with the capitol police to help secure our democracy earlier my colleague manager swalwell showed you terrible videos of the police being physically abused and injured you remember what happened to officer phenomenon and officer hodges the m.p. d.

but there were scores of other officers whose names we don't know who are also brutalized that day injuries the u.s. capitol police and the metropolitan police department include concussions irritated lungs serious injuries caused by repeated blows from bats holes and clubs capitol police officers also sustained injuries that will be with them for the rest of their lives one officer lost the tip of a right index finger in a statement issued on generous 7 to chairman of the capitol police officers union said and i quote i have officers who are not issued helmets prior to the attack who have sustained brain injuries one officer has to cracked ribs into space mashed spinal this one officer.