tonight, heroes on the hill. law enforcement trapped, taser terrorized by insurrections. >> people started chanting "kill him with his own gun." >> firsthand accounts from the officers defending democracy. >> some of them were absolutely crazed. >> outnumbered, outgunned, overwhelmed. >> some of the most brutal combat i've ever encountered. >> and how the mob was just one minute and 100 yards from the man one heartbeat from the presidency. >> where's mike pence, where's mike pence! inside intel? did some lawmakers give rioters recon tours before the siege? >> it's important for us to be prepared for more disruption, more violence. >> this special edition of "nightline" will be right back.

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♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. it was just ten days ago the nation watched in disbelief as a mob of pro-trump insurrectionists stormed the u.s. capitol. now more than 100 have been arrested and the president has been impeached a second time in part for inciting that mob.

tonight we hear from the frontline heroes who held the line of democracy. >> they threw down a huge metal object that hit me in the head. i was also knocked down -- the medical mask i was wearing got pulled over my eyes, so i was on the ground and blinded and they started attacking me from all sides. >> reporter: like most americans, officer daniel hodges will never forget the scene that unfolded around him in washington last week. unlike most americans, hodges was there. >> stop the steal! >> reporter: on the front lines, defending our democracy, as an angry mob stormed the capitol. he talked about that now infamous image of him being crushed by a door with my colleague, pierre thomas. >> some of them thought they would march on up and tell us that we're not enemies and we should all join together and go arrest congress together. some of them were conspiracy theorists they hear about on the

internet, just espousing every bizarre kind of theory that they could to try to get to us join their side. >> they would try to convince you as they hit you? >> yeah, they were waving the thin blue line flag while they were assaulting us. >> reporter: rioters from all over the country assaulted officer hodges and fellow officers like officer michael pinone, who was beaten with an american flag. >> it looked like a medieval battle scene, some of the most brutal combat i've ever encountered. at one point i got tased. people were yelling "we got one, we got one." >> reporter: pinone, who works narcotics, father of four, was tased several times, stripped of his badge and radio, and suffered a minor heart attack on the scene. >> some of the people in the crowd while i was getting tased, they were stripping my gear off my vest. stripped my badge off, my radio. individuals in the crowd tried to get my gun. at one point people started chanting "kill him with his own gun."

at that point, self-preservation kicked in. i remember thinking -- you know, i could kill some of these guys. but -- that would give them the justification that they were looking for, i think, to kill me. >> he was practically foamit the mouth. he was screaming and just grabbed my filter on my mask, started beating my head against the door frame, ripping it off as best he could. he was able to rip away my riot baton from me and started beating me in the i thought, this could be the end. >> reporter: more than 300 are facing charges in relation to the insurrection. more than 100 suspects arrested. americans from all walks of life facing multiple felonies and prison sentences. a flower shop owner. an occupational therapist. a firefighter. along with followers of q-anon and the proud boys. all charged with unlawful entry

and disorderly conduct, all stemming from january 6th. a day painstakingly documented in our abc news hulu special "24 hours: assault on the capitol." >> january 6th was going to be a busy day in washington, d.c. >> i got up in the morning, was preparing for my own remarks, and had a zoom meeting with the members of the pennsylvania democratic delegation. was ready to go conduct business. >> january 6th is the day that congress has the responsibility of counting the electoral votes. usually it's a pro forma session. >> reporter: competing with the history happening on the hill, president trump was throwing a big rally just down the street near the white house. >> the president and his team had organized this rally for weeks. they started tweeting about it right around the christmas holiday. >> december 19th, president trump tweeted, quote, big

protest in d.c. on january 6th, be there, will be wild. >> we saw people from all over the country listening to that call from the president to show up here. >> fight for trump! >> and protest what they thought was an election being stolen from them. a lie. this election was not stolen from them. >> reporter: the crowd assembling outside the white house swelled from hundreds to thousands to tens of thousands of people. >> this from very early on felt different. >> usa, usa, usa! >> you just felt this negative energy. >> whose street? >> our street! >> whose street? >> our street! >> as you approached that rally -- >> hang them in the streets, hang them all! >> reporter: the president took the stage just before noon and started repeating those familiar lies, that the election was rigged. and then this. >> we're going to walk down, any

one you want but i think right here, we're going to walk down to the capitol! you'll never take back our country with weakness. you have to show strength, and you have to be strong. >> we love you! we love you! >> the crowd was pretty jazzed up. frankly, even before he finished, they started heading out and towards the capitol. >> stop the steal! stop the steal! we're coming for you! >> madam speaker! >> reporter: by 1:00, just as the joint session is beginning inside the house chamber -- crowds are breaking through barriers on the grounds outside, clashing with capitol police. within the hour, rioters would break into the building itself. >> it's obvious to me that the capitol police weren't given the resources they needed to defuse that situation. surely someone in the chain of command screwed up. royally. >> go, go, go, go, go!

>> the truth is law enforcement was not prepared for the violence that broke out. didn't have the armed national guard standing sentry in front of the capitol. didn't see any of that kind of gear you expect law enforcement to have at the ready. >> do you have any doubt if they could have gotten to the members of congress that they would have taken some of them hostage? >> oh, i have no doubt. >> reporter: today "the washington post" reporting vice president pence was rushed from the senate chamber just one minute before this group reached the second floor, only to be led away by officer eugene goodman, who acted as a decoy. that scene playing out while pence, his wife and daughter were 100 feet away. one of the first people to reach pence's desk, jacob chansley, the man who calls himself a q-anon shaman.

>> he's facing at least half a dozen charges, ranging from obstructing an official proceeding, congress, to violent entry and disorderly conduct at the capitol building. >> reporter: today prosecutors arguing chansley should remain in custody after leaving a note on pence's desk that read, "it's only a matter of time, justice is coming." standing next to chansley, this man. dominic pizola from new york. he was arrested today, seen in that video smashing a window with a capitol police riot shield. pizola, who goes by "spaz," appears to be a member of the proud boys. according to the fbi, spaz and his group said anyone they got their hands on, they would have killed, including house speaker nancy pelosi and vice president mike pence. this week, authorities made dozens of other arrests across the country, including the man seen carrying a confederate flag inside the capitol. the man wearing that camp auschwitz sweatshirt. a texas real estate agent who took a private jet to the protest. an olympic gold medal swimmer.

>> there are the people who just accessed the capitol without authorization. basically a souped-up trespassing charge. then there are the people who actually used force and violence. and they're the ones who are in much bigger trouble. >> reporter: people like peter steager of arkansas, allegedly seen beating a police officer with a flagpole. and robert sanford, retired firefighter from pennsylvania, accused of hurling a fire extinguisher at police, striking three officers. >> it is possible that federal prosecutors could still charge some of the rioters with sedition, effectively trying to overthrow the government using force. but i think it unlikely, because that's a little more politically fraught than some of the other charges. >> reporter: serious questions remain about why authorities were so ill prepared. a few lawmakers say they saw other members of congress giving group tours at the capitol one day before the riot, even though

tours have been suspended since last march due to covid, raising the question, were they reconnaissance missions? >> it seem like innocent coincidence? or is there early evidence there's something suspicious about it? >> i think, you know, the fact that there were tours and they more than likely were people who were involved in the insurrection, that we have to be very, very aware that maybe there is some kind of tie there. we also have to maintain some level of levelheadedness and not jump to any conclusions. >> reporter: more than 30 house democrats have called for an immediate investigation into the suspicious behavior and access given to visitors, adding that the rioters had an unusually detailed knowledge of the layout of the capitol complex. you've suggested it may have been partly an inside job. what do you base that on? >> i base that on the fact that

they seemed to know their way around this place in a very unusual way. >> if there was some level of coordination, those are criminal acts that need to be prosecuted. so the punishment should be severe, and they should be held accountable, whether they're a member of congress or not. >> what does it say to you that we've reached a point that, whether this proves to be true or not, that you have to be suspicious of your fellow lawmakers? >> the fact that, you know, members of congress are scared of other members of congress who want to carry guns onto the house floor, avoid the metal detectors, is something that i never could see i would have to worry about or we would have to worry about. we are in uncharted waters at this point. coming up, what's next as america braces for more violence?

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♪ consider this. there are now more u.s. troops deployed on capitol hill than in afghanistan and iraq combined. this show of strength coming days before the next president is sworn in. as the fbi warns of continued threats to members of congress. >> some of them were absolutely crazed. i call them zealous. true believers. they would let nothing stop them

from getting inside, and didn't matter what they had to do to get inside. >> could you believe it, though? could you believe that americans were doing this, in the way that they were doing it? a mob, no less? >> you know, i want to say no. but -- we've been seeing this kind of talk for years now. these kind of people that just believe whatever certain leaders tell them. and so, yeah, i could believe it. it's unfortunate that it became a reality, though. >> reporter: officer daniel hodges was among those d.c. police officers attacked by rioters on january 6th. he and officer michael pinone suffering injuries at the hands of the mob. >> i was hospitalized. released. a few follow-up medical appointments i've had so far, everything seems to be a-okay. i feel good physically. i've had an outpouring of support from law enforcement. >> reporter: department of

justice revealing current and former law enforcement officers were involved in the insurrection, nearly a dozen former military there as well. >> unfortunately, as this case goes on, we're seeing indications that law enforcement officers, both former and current, may have been off duty and participating in this riot activity. we don't care what your profession is, who you are, who you're affiliated with. if you're conducting or engaged in criminal activity, we will charge you, and you will be arrested. >> to learn from federal prosecutors today that among those in that mob were current and former law enforcement officials, as well as former military, this is causing many in the law enforcement community to truly be concerned. anyone who walked into that building or tried to fight their way into that building knew that they were breaking the law, knew they were violating their oath. so this is a story that is both chilling and portends ominous

things for the future, potentially. >> reporter: d.c. is braced for more violence after an fbi threat assessment warned that domestic terrorists will continue to target public officials, government buildings, and federal and local law enforcement leading up to the inauguration. checkpoints and barricades are scattered throughout the district, while armed national guard troops patrol the hill. 25,000 are expected by next week. >> as of this morning, secretary of the interior has officially closed the areas of the national mall -- >> reporter: among the fbi's top concerns for inauguration day, the substantial threat of improvised explosive devices. the ongoing threat to members of congress and political leaders. inside the security perimeter today, my colleague, martha raddatz, spoke to members of the guard preparing for the worst. >> we're on the lookout for everything. we always keep our head on a swivel. once we get the information down to us, we put it out to our lower enlisted so everybody's watching for anything and everything. >> i was here that day.

there were veterans in the crowd. >> it made my heart heavy to feel that brothers and sisters that served before me, that paved the way for us serving today, were taking part in such an act. >> reporter: ten days after inciting his supporters to attack congress, the president has made few public appearances. vice president mike pence seeming to unofficially step in to fill in the role of commander in chief, reviewing inauguration security plans, visiting the national guard at the capitol. >> have a safe inauguration. i just wanted to stop out today to say thank you. >> some of your republican colleagues have said it's time for reconciliation and healing. democrats are saying it's time for accountability. why isn't there room for both? >> there should be room for both. you can't have reconciliation until you have accountability. until those people who caused the trouble, caused the

insurrection, led to the insurrection, fanned the flames of the insurrection, are held accountable, there is no moving on. and the argument that we're going to make matters worse? worse? we just had a domestic terrorist attack to try to overturn a legal election. it ain't getting any worse. it's about getting and holding people accountable, prosecuting the perpetrators, and then we can talk about reconciliation. up next, we're going to take a moment to remember mrs. rogers, a life well lived and loved in the neighborhood. ♪ ♪ (quiet piano music) ♪ ♪ comfort in the extreme.

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♪ finally tonight, remembering a friend to all of us. that smile, that spirit, and of course that last name. joanne rogers, or mrs. rogers. the widow of a tv legend whose lessons of kindness and acceptance influenced generations. >> you remember mrs. rogers. >> helping inspire "mr. rogers neighborhood." ♪ it's a beautiful day in this neighborhood ♪

>> later providing guidance for production of "a beautiful day in the neighborhood," a film starring tom hanks. >> how do you think your husband would have reacted by being portrayed by this guy? >> i think he might have been speechless. >> championing her husband's legacy after his death, always with a touch of kindness. >> how do you think he practiced being kind? >> fred was a minister, first and foremost. and the program was his ministry. >> joanne rogers was 92. we will miss you, neighbor. that's "nightline" for this evening. thanks for the company, america. good night.