[indistinct clamor on video]
[indistinct shouting on video]
[indistinct shouting and clamor]
[angry man]
Let's go, D. Hodges!
I'm walking here!
[Daniel] Ow!
Cut it out, cut it out!
[Daniel]
When I first learned
about that video
that went around
on the internet
about our defense
in the tunnel,
I hit play,
and I watched what happened,
and I hit pause,
and I wrote down what happened.
And I kept doing that
until I reached the end.
[indistinct shouting on video]
[crying on video]
[Daniel]
I was embarrassed.
No one wants their 15 minutes of
fame to be crying out for help,
you know, especially if your job
is a police officer.
But ultimately, I'm glad that
it got out and got around,
because it's important
to get the truth out
about what happened.
I almost feel like somebody else
took these photos.
But it was me.
I will always think about
what happened that day.
I will always have these photos
to tell these stories.
I'm trying to capture images
showing you one of the most
important times
in American history.
And I can't wait for the day
where I think that my son
will be interested so I can
explain to him what happened,
that I was there
at the Capitol building.
I was scared for my f*cking
life, and you know,
I thought about you.
[Erica]
There's no way I can forget.
When footage of that day
was replayed,
and even today is replayed,
I change the channel.
And I still don't like
to watch it. I just, I can't.
I didn't want to think about it
anymore.
I really, I tried really hard,
as best I could,
to block that day out.
[indistinct radio chatter]
I didn't really share
immediately with, like, family
what really went down, um,
but I've thought about
January 6th a lot, you know
and trying to wrap
my head around really
what happened that day.
[Chief Contee]
When I look back
and I think back,
the gravity of everything
that that happened,
this is history. People be
talking about this for years.
And here I sit dead center,
four days on the job...
four days and the weight
of the world on your shoulders.
I want everyone to know,
there was a huge price to pay
for our democracy on that day.
[Daniel]
Sure, where do you
want me to go?
[man]
Right back in the... [inaudible]
[Daniel]
I was there,
I knew what happened,
I was there all day,
and it's rare that you get
the opportunity to put your
finger on the scale of history.
And influence things in a way
that brings the truth to light.
[pencil screeching]
[Rep. Jamie Raskin]
My dad said democracy
needs the ground to stand on,
and that ground is the truth.
So, we gotta tell the truth.
If we can handle it.
The greatest strength
of democracy is that
it comes from the people.
The weakness of democracy
is that it has so many enemies,
other pretenders to the throne.
They always describe
Donald Tr*mp
as a larger-than-life figure.
I'm appreciating that people
are not larger than life,
people are just the right size
for a democracy
where everybody gets one vote,
one voice, and we need
everybody to participate.
[indistinct chatter]
[Chairman Thompson]
Good afternoon. When I think
about the most basic way
to explain the importance of
elections in the United States,
there's a phrase that always
comes to mind.
It may sound straightforward,
but it's meaningful...
[Rep. Raskin]
Sometimes the truth is like
a second chance,
and I believe that.
[footsteps]
[clears throat]
You ready?
[distant police siren]
[indistinct speech]
[pedestrian]
Morning, morning.
[cheering]
[street seller]
Ten bucks, ten bucks.
Hats and shirts.
[Chief Contee]
I'm a native son.
This is the city that raised me,
and, you know,
as crazy as this sounds,
I felt like everything
that I had gone through here
in this city prepared me
to be the chief of police
that I was on that day.
[Chief Contee]
I officially took over the job
as chief of police
on January the 2nd, so 4 days
before January the 6th.
Whether that was destiny
or whether it was just you know,
I drew the short straw,
I don't know.
-Whose streets?
-Our streets.
-Whose streets?
-Our streets.
-Whose streets?
-Our streets.
[Chief Contee]
It conjures up memories
of what happened on that day,
kind of hits you in the gut.
The officers are here below,
I mean look at these people
that are standing overhead,
right,
and we're not knowing
who's armed in the crowd.
We had already recovered
firearms and so forth, so...
I mean, there's just
a huge sense of vulnerability.
People were running for their
lives that day,
and it didn't matter,
it didn't matter what side
of the fence you were on,
Republican or Democrat,
it didn't matter.
And for people to pretend
like nothing happened...
it really, really angers me.
[car whooshing]
[street seller]
Hats and shirts, ten bucks!
That day, I rode into work
and there were a lot of people
already out at like 6:30,
7:00 in the morning,
converging on downtown.
[cars whooshing,
honking in the back]
MPD's role,
it's unique in our city.
There are different entities
that work together in order
to provide safety
and security in our city.
You have the United States
Secret Service
who has responsibility
for the White House itself.
You have the United States
Capitol Police
that are responsible
for the Capitol,
and the Metropolitan
Police Department
is responsible for all
of the rest of the city
where people eat, live,
work everyday in our city.
Go Tr*mp!
USA, USA!
Come and get your Tr*mp hats.
Here it is folks!
Good morning, everyone.
[Chief Contee]
With all the rhetoric
that was happening
leading up to January 6th,
we expected something big.
Certainly, there was a lot of
internet chatter and you know,
intelligence information going
back and forth that said
a whole bunch
of different things.
We had requested support from
other law enforcement agencies,
and we requested the services
of the National Guard
from the Secretary of the Army
to assist us in managing traffic
so that police officers
would not be tied up
dealing with traffic control.
But there was a lot of back
and forth
and a lot of discussion
about optics.
And even once they got approval,
I was told the National Guard
could not move East of 9th
Street without the approval
of the Secretary of the Army.
And quite frankly,
I was a little shocked.
We would need approval at that
level of government to move
personnel, you know, a few
blocks over from where they are.
I mean that is, that's like,
like huge, right?
That never happens.
[Mel]
I'd been documenting protests
and marches for over a year
at that point, it seems like.
I started going to Tr*mp rallies
because Tr*mp
is a part of the story.
As a photographer,
what was very significant to me
are the people and the people
that were there to attend
the rally.
[Mel]
Part of the reason I do
what I do when it comes
to these protests is document,
you know, the both sides.
I mean, here's this young Black
wearing a f*cking
Make America
Great Again red cap.
I couldn't believe it.
What the f*ck are you doing?
What are you doing here?
Why, ugh. [indistinct speech]
Why am I here? Man,
I'm here for President Tr*mp.
I'm here put that energy
in a bucket, man, like...
You start talking to these MAGA
people, and you just become
fascinated with their values
and their thought process
and why they believe
what they believe.
[protestor]
...understand and know
that this is a cause
must also understand that
it is a righteous cause.
[indistinct crowd chatter]
[Mel]
This is where I knew,
and I was like, "Ah, sh*t,
we got the Confederate
flag out this bad boy?"
f*cking crazy.
It's the first time I've ever
seen a Confederate
flag in person.
I've never seen one in
my life right before my eyes.
No.
This is the first time,
Washington, DC,
January 6th, 2021.
[indistinct crowd chatter]
I thought, you might need to
definitely more than usual,
keep your head on a swivel.
[Daniel]
I follow the news. I'm aware
of the political climate
in this country
and how divisive things
have been in recent times.
So, I'd absolutely understand
when communities of color feel
feel like they've been
mistreated by law enforcement
because there is
absolutely a history
of that in this country.
And, I'm not
ignorant of the past.
I am not ignorant
of the present.
[Daniel]
With that said, in 2020,
we would work 18 hours a day
with no days off
for like a month at least,
and from a law enforcement
perspective,
that was the
backdrop for January 6th.
[indistinct speech]
[Daniel]
That day, we're posted
along Constitution Avenue.
The thing that really stood out
were those who were wearing
ballistic vests, helmets,
goggles, fire gloves,
backpacks packed full
of who knows what,
that was concerning obviously
but that in it of itself isn't
something that we
can stop people for.
[MPD]
Keep it going, come on,
keep the march going.
You've got a great march
going here, come on.
[Daniel]
At one point, some people
with tact gear came up
to one of my colleagues
and said, "Is this all
the police officers you have?"
And my colleague looked down
at him, and was just confused,
like, uh, didn't know
how to respond.
And then the guy also said,
"Do you really think
you could stop us?
So that was rather ominous.
[Chief Contee]
So, I'm checking out
the landscape of the city.
-Whose streets?
-Our streets!
-Whose streets?
-Our streets!
[Chief Contee]
I'm in the car, and there
were a group of individuals
marching in formation, which
is what caught my attention.
They were walking
towards the US Capitol.
And I took a picture of that.
[crowd] (chanting)
Where's Antifa?
Where's Antifa?
Where's Antifa?
[Chief Contee]
Some of them were wearing
orange skull caps,
and they had, like,
these ballistic vests on.
Obviously, I'm thinking about,
you know, some type of training,
prior law enforcement,
potentially m*llitary,
potentially.
I'm thinking about
all those things.
And I reached out to our
Homeland Security Chief
and I said, "Hey,
I just noticed this.
We need to make sure that we're
communicating with Capitol,
that this is coming their way."
[crowd] (chanting)
f*ck Antifa!
f*ck Antifa!
f*ck Antifa!
[crowd clamoring]
[Mel]
I said let me go see
how many people are really
at this damn thing.
Got all the way up, went up
this riser and then it was like,
holy sh*t.
This is thousands of people.
Thousands.
When I saw that,
I was like, g*dd*mn.
There's definitely going to be
some agitators
amongst a crowd
of this size.
[crowd] (chanting)
Tr*mp! Tr*mp! Tr*mp!
Whooooo!
[cheering]
[President Tr*mp]
The media will not show
the magnitude of this crowd.
These people are not going
to take it any longer.
They're not going to
take it any longer.
I just really want to
see what they do.
I just want to see
how they cover it.
I've never seen
anything like it.
It'd be really great if we...
-[Erica's mother] Take this now?
-[Erica] Yep.
See ya, Mom!
[Erica's mother]
Bye-bye, have a good day.
[Erica]
You too.
[Erica]
That day, I was so excited
for this certification
of these votes.
I had never experienced
that, and so I drove to work
really excited,
I got all dressed up.
I've always worked in spaces
that are meant to advocate
or uplift the Black community.
And when Donald Tr*mp
became president, it was,
it was a challenging time,
to say the least.
Um, so it felt like it
was a new day, you know?
Joe Biden campaigned
on a message of unity,
and it was something that
we had not heard in a few years,
so I was really,
really, really excited
to see what the future
held.
[indistinct speech in distance]
[Rep. Raskin]
I remember driving
down North Capitol Street,
passing Lincoln's cottage
and the Rock Creek Cemetery,
which is acres of tombstones.
My whole life, I've thought
a lot about Abraham Lincoln.
That day, I thought
about Lincoln
losing his son in 1862
near the beginning
of the Civil w*r,
and not being able to properly
grieve for his son
and being pulled
immediately into all of
the m*llitary
planning and everything.
[Rep. Raskin] I want to thank
all of you for coming
and sharing our grief.
Sharing our joy also,
about the life of Tommy.
I've lost something
so fundamental,
so elemental in my life
I am not sure at times
that I even
recognize the world.
Uh, my son Tommy had taken
his life on December 31st, 2020,
um, after...
um...
a long seesaw battle
with depression.
[indistinct chatter]
This was obviously
an overwhelming trauma
and catastrophe
in the life of our family.
We had his graveside service,
on January 5th.
The next day,
January 6th...
was the day
constitutionally assigned for
Congress to meet
in joint session
to receive
the Electoral College votes.
The Speaker called to ask if
I could come in,
and I told her
that I could come
because the Democrats
had an extremely
narrow majority,
and of course I was miserable
and I was grieving, but the
truth is that I knew that Tommy
would be in my heart,
he would be in my chest.
I felt him there
from the beginning,
and I knew that he would
want me to be hanging tough.
That became
a governing logic for me
in everything
that was to come.
[Rep. Raskin]
Our youngest daughter, Tabitha,
decided to come with me,
and so did my son-in-law, Hank,
who's married
to our daughter Hannah.
We looked out the window and
we could see these streams
of protestors coming
towards the Capitol.
I just had never
seen that before.
[crowd] (chanting)
Where's Antifa?
Where's Antifa?
Where's Antifa?
[indistinct clamor]
[Chief Contee] My assumption
was that the Capitol police
were well prepared,
much like the Metropolitan
Police Department.
What I saw
that was concerning to me
is that there were not
very many
Capitol police officers there
at the, at the bike rack.
And this was really the first
point where they
had to confront
some of the protestors.
[clamoring]
And I'm not exactly sure
strategically
why they were
deployed that way.
[crowd] (chanting)
USA. USA. USA. USA.
[crowd clamoring]
[man]
They breached the area here.
Holy sh*t, guys.
Holy sh*t, holy sh*t.
[man]
Let's go!!
[indistinct speech, clamoring]
[Chief Contee]
If that had been defended
differently, you know--
I can Monday-morning
quarterback it, but you know,
what if there were
enough people there
when that initial group
came there?
You know, would things
have been different?
[Rep. Raskin]
We looked out the
window and Tabitha said,
"Are the police gonna be able
to stop all these people?"
And I said, "Yeah, it'll
be safe, it's the Capitol."
[indistinct shouting]
[Erica]
We saw the protestors were
getting closer to the building,
but I didn't take it seriously
because I thought the Capitol
was one of the safest
buildings in the world.
[protestor]
This is our house!
[Erica]
We had been hearing chatter
of a potential protest,
but that wasn't
out of the ordinary,
so I just figured, you know,
that's what comes with
the territory of the day.
(chanting)
USA! USA!
[Rep. Raskin] I did
feel more nervous about it,
but the Capitol police
felt like they were ready,
they were on top of it,
so I gave Tabitha
and Hank a kiss goodbye,
I said, "I'll see you out
at the floor," you know,
"I'll be able to look up
at you in the gallery."
[reporter]
Rhonda, we're also seeing
Senators gather
and prepare to
walk over to the House Chamber.
[Erica]
We were preparing for there
to be a convening
of the full body of Congress
to certify these votes.
I was really excited
just, just to be there.
And I remember House Majority
Whip Jim Clyburn
doing his various press
interviews and taking
kind of a selfie
of myself with the
Congressman, as I do.
[indistinct chatter]
[Erica]
I was recording the Senators
walking over
and posting it to Instagram, and
I think I said something like,
"Let the certification begin,"
or something cheesy like that.
[chuckles]
[gavel bangs]
Madam Speaker,
members of Congress,
pursuant to the Constitution and
the laws of the United States...
On the House floor,
they passed out the memo
from Vice President Pence
saying that he was not going
to assert unilateral powers
to reject Electoral College
votes from the states.
That memo told you precisely
what Tr*mp was trying
to get him to do,
and he explained
why he couldn't do it
and why it was not consistent
with the Constitution.
So, I breathed a sigh of relief
because that was good news.
After ascertainment
has been had
that the certificates are
authentic and correct in form,
the tellers will count and
make a list of the votes...
[Erica]
A lot of us went into the
Congressman's office because
the Congressman was
on the House floor
dealing with
the certification by then.
Outside of the Congressmen's
window,
we could see the protestors
were getting closer,
and it just seemed like they
were getting closer and closer.
[indistinct cheering]
[Erica]
But even then, I was just like,
"That's closer than usual,
but you know,
Capitol police will be fine."
[indistinct crowd cheering]
[crowd] (chanting)
Our house!
(chanting)
USA! USA!
USA! USA! USA!
USA! USA!
Let's go, let's go.
[clamoring]
[Chief Contee] While that
first wave of people breached
the West Side of the Capitol,
we get the call that
we have a suspicious package,
one at the RNC, another
suspicious package at the DNC.
And these things turned out
to be, like, real pipe bombs.
[crowd] We the people!
We the people!
[Chief Contee]
And almost simultaneously,
we also get the call
as the Metropolitan
Police Department
to come in to assist with
what's going on at the Capitol.
And this is local law
enforcement coming to the aid
of the federal government.
We don't do that in the
Metropolitan Police Department.
It's not our area
of responsibility.
[Christina Laury]
We were broken up
into three squads,
and I remember we're getting
ready for the day,
and we're like it's just
going to be a normal day,
you know they just needed
more manpower just in case.
And within seconds,
the radio goes off.
And everything just changed.
The mood that we were just in
30 seconds ago was, was gone.
[crowd] (chanting)
USA! USA! USA! USA!
[Chief Contee]
The scene was so chaotic
on the West front of the Capitol
that the US Capitol police
requested the services
of the National Guard.
Every minute was precious,
as far as I'm concerned.
We got what's happening
at the Capitol.
We got pipe bombs at the RNC
and DNC-- real pipe bombs.
We got members deployed there,
and we still have this
large group of people that
have not even stepped off
from the Ellipse to make
their way towards the Capitol.
Right here, we're going
to walk down to the Capitol!
[crowd cheering]
[President Tr*mp]
The kind of pride and boldness
that they need
to take back our country.
So, let's walk down
Pennsylvania Avenue.
I want to thank you all,
God bless you
and God bless America.
Thank you all for being here.
This is incredible.
Thank you very much.
[crowd]
Whooooo!
(chanting)
1776! 1776!
[Chief Contee]
After the President finished
his speech,
there was just like, you know,
wave after wave
after wave of people,
who didn't even have a barricade
to walk by at this point.
I mean, it's just a mob
of people.
[indistinct crowd chatter]
[Mel]
On the way to the Capitol
building--
-Whose flag?
-Our flag!
-Whose streets?
Our streets!
-Yeah!
-God Bless America, baby!
[Mel]
How you feeling, Nate?
[Nate] Oh, I'm feeling ready,
bro. Readier than ever.
[woman] They're
evacuating the building.
[man] Occupy the Capitol.
Our building.
[woman] They're
evacuating the building.
[man]
Nobody else's building.
It's ours...
...marching on
Glory, glory hallelujah
Then, once I got to the Capitol,
the "oh sh*t" moment
really happened
where you're like, f*ck!
[crowd]
We live for freedom!
Come see it.
Come see these people
take this house back.
Come see it.
[Mel]
This looks like some sh*t
out of a crazy-ass movie set.
[protestor]
This is democracy!
This is what you get
with rule of the mob!
[Mel]
I get up to this structure,
and I just hear people saying,
"Everyone gotta get off,
it's too many people,
this is gonna collapse."
[woman]
Stop the steal!
[Mel]
Where are people gonna go?
Are people actually gonna
go in the f*cking building?
Like what the hell is happening?
Where are the police?
[crowd] (chanting)
We want Tr*mp!
We want Tr*mp!
[man]
We're at the gate,
we're coming through
this m*therf*cker tonight.
We're at the door.
We're right here,
we're coming in.
We're not stopping, goddamnit!
This is our house
m*therf*ckers!
[crowd] (chanting)
USA!
DC [MPD] 42,
disregard Constitution.
[indistinct]
...will respond over there.
[Daniel]
We received the order
to go to the Capitol,
and we were putting on our gear
when eventually our sergeant
said, "All right, that's enough,
whatever you got on
is gonna be it.
It's time to move."
So, we all got in the van
and started driving.
[honking and siren wailing]
[Christina]
I was racing faster than
I've ever driven a police car
in my life to get down there.
[distant police siren]
[Christina]
When we got out of the car,
there were thousands
and thousands of people.
[clamoring]
[Christina]
There was no orders
at that point.
There was too much going on
to have any type of orders,
and I did not think that
we were going to be able
to get through the crowd.
I didn't think they would
allow us to get through.
[clamoring]
[woman]
This is our 1776.
We need to continue
to storm this Capitol.
Do not let police through,
they are traitors.
[indistinct crowd speech]
[crowd clamoring]
[Daniel]
There were so many people.
They had us comically
outnumbered.
One guy asked me,
"Are you my brother?"
It took me a second to process
what he was asking me.
"Do you actually think
I want to overthrow
the government with you?"
[clamoring]
If it was just the couple
hundred that committed
the extreme acts of v*olence,
we coulda handled that.
It's the thousands and thousands
of people backing them up.
[clamoring]
[Daniel] It was the crowd
that was the w*apon.
[clamoring]
[Christina]
I'm seeing objects
being flown at us,
screaming at other
officers to duck
because they're about
to get hit with a brick.
[Daniel]
They started attacking us.
One guy tried to grab my baton.
I was taking blows
from all sides.
I felt something heavy
come down into my head.
Eventually I went to the ground,
and the guy I was wrestling with
kicked me in the chest.
The medical mask I was wearing
at the time had actually
gotten pulled up over my eyes,
so when I was on the ground
on all fours I was also blind,
and I was afraid I was just
about to get dogpiled
and destroyed.
[indistinct speech, clamoring]
I lost my radio, my baton,
uh, I can't remember now, but
a few other pieces of equipment.
You couldn't defend yourself
and your gear at the same time,
so you just had to let it go.
When I, thankfully
got back up on my feet,
I led my platoon
through the crowd
until we got to
the terrace proper,
and we joined Capitol police
and the rest of MPD there.
You couldn't get any closer
to the Capitol at that point
without going inside, honestly.
So, I knew at that point
that it was imperative
that we keep them out.
f*ck you!
f*ck you!
You're a f*cking scumbag!
Scumbag!
You're all f*cking scumbags!
You swore a f*cking
oath to this country!
That's me right there.
Once I got to the Capitol,
as I walk down the steps
to the West Front,
on this white marble
you're seeing police officers'
gear, blood,
anything and everything that you
can think of that would happen
in a fight, it was happening
right there on the West Front.
[indistinct clamoring]
Well, f*ck you guys! You
can't call yourselves Americans!
You broke your f*cking
oath today!
1776, man!
[indistinct clamor continues]
[Christina]
When we go through our training,
we are required to get sprayed
with OC, which is pepper spray,
so we know how we react,
we know how our body reacts.
It was not fun.
It lasts for about 45 minutes
before you can see again,
you feel better again.
Bear mace--
compared to that,
OC is, like, on level 10.
I was just blinded.
[MPD] You okay?
[Christina]
I just can't open my eyes.
[MPD]
Okay, need some more water?
[Christina]
Oh, my God.
[MPD]
I know. You're blinded, right?
They're throwing sh*t,
so I'm just going to put this
on top of your head.
Alright.
-[MPD] Just in case.
-[Christina] Alright.
[MPD]
I don't want you to get hit.
You're just hopeless
and helpless at that point.
[indistinct speech]
-Can I get more water?
-[MPD] Yeah.
[indistinct speech]
[crowd clamoring in the back]
[indistinct speech, clamoring]
[man]
I'm representing our president.
He won this election.
This was stolen from us,
and a million people
are standing in front of
the Capitol, and we know it.
[Vice President Pence]
Are there any objections
to counting the certificate
of vote from the state
of Arizona?
[Rep. Raskin]
We began the counting of
Electoral College votes,
and Arizona was the first one
where there were objections.
[Vice President Pence]
Is the objection in writing
and signed by a Senator?
-Yes, it is.
-It is.
[subdued applause]
[Rep. Raskin]
Something like 50 or 60
Republicans got up to object.
And at that point, the joint
session immediately breaks,
and the House and the Senate
resolve into
our separate chambers
to debate the challenges.
I look back up in the gallery
to see that Tabitha
and Hank were there.
And then it was my turn
to get up,
my basic point was going
to be that the election is over.
It's not our job to vote for the
person we want to be President;
it's our job to certify
the votes that have come in
from the governors.
That's what the job is.
But before getting into it,
I took a second
just to thank the Speaker
and all of the Members
for their condolences.
The gentleman is recognized
without objection for five
minutes.
Madam Speaker,
I wanna thank you first,
and-- and all my dear, beloved
colleagues for your love
and tenderness,
which my family
and I will never forget.
And then, there was this
huge standing ovation...
[applause]
[Rep. Raskin]
It was jarring
and disorienting for me
because I could kind of see
them looking at me,
or into me as
a person embodying
tragedy at that point.
It was really a lovely,
wonderful gesture,
but I'm not sure
I totally understood it.
But then I started thinking,
in my kind of sleepless,
disjointed way, "Well, maybe
everyone's love of Tommy,
or sympathy for our family,
would lead to an end
of all of this fighting
over the election."
Maybe they would withdraw
the Stop the Steal campaign,
and they would stop
telling the Big Lie.
It was obviously
a completely irrational thought,
but that's what passed
through my mind right there,
because there was this huge
outpouring of emotion
in this standing ovation.
[subdued applause]
[Rep. Raskin] And then it was
over, and then I launched
into my real speech.
Thank you again.
Abraham Lincoln, whose name
is a comfort to us all,
said we've got
the best government...
[Rep. Raskin] So still at that
point, we had no reason to think
that there was medieval-style
fighting breaking out outside.
We were ready in the way
you'd be ready in a courtroom
or a classroom,
but we weren't ready
in the way we
should've been for
what was about to take place.
[crowd clamoring]
[man] Take their g*ns!
Take their g*ns!
[Chief Contee]
Robert Glover,
who's now the Commander
of our Special
Operations Division,
I heard some things in his voice
that I've never heard before.
[protestor]
Pull them! Pull them this way!
[Christina]
Commander Glover, you know,
he knew that we were
losing ground,
and he had no problem
letting us know,
"We're losing ground,
we need to back up."
Because we were outnumbered.
We were outnumbered.
It was such a wide line of
people going back for--
this is an exaggeration,
but for miles--
you know, that's how it felt.
[protestor]
What are you going to do
when we defend our Constitution
with the Second Amendment?
What are you going to do then?
[indistinct speech, clamoring]
[MPD]
All people must leave
the area immediately.
If you don't follow this order,
it may subject you to arrest.
[Mel]
These police officers were
completely overwhelmed by
the thousands of people that
were next to me, behind me,
around me.
[Mel]
There were definitely
ex-m*llitary personnel.
Ex-police.
There were people that
knew what they were doing,
knew how to lead people,
and if I step back,
I can start hearing
people say that, you know,
they are going in.
This is, you know,
"We are going to go inside,
Donald Tr*mp is meeting us here,
and if you don't let us in,
we're going
to f*ck some sh*t up."
[man] Right now,
the people in the Capitol
are sheltering in place.
We have the Capitol.
[Chief Contee] There's just
so much that's going on.
And from a command standpoint--
a Chief of Police standpoint--
I need to be in a position
where I can command
what's happening
for the entire city,
and the mayor needs to know
exactly what's going on
at that point.
And I told her that I would
meet her at our command center.
[indistinct speech]
[indistinct crowd speech]
[Chief Contee]
Now I have a view of what's
happening at the Capitol.
I have a view of what's
happening at the Ellipse,
I have a view of what's
happening at Freedom Plaza.
I was sending
everything that I had
because our democracy
was under att*ck.
What we really needed to see
were National Guardsmen
at the US Capitol.
At that point,
we had a phone call
that was convened by myself,
by the Mayor of the District
of Columbia,
several representatives
of the DC National Guard,
the US Capitol Police Chief,
where he essentially was
pleading for assistance
from the National Guard.
I just simply said,
"Wait a minute.
What I hear is the Chief
of the Capitol Police
asking for additional resources
from the National Guard
to be deployed
to the US Capitol.
Chief, is that
what you're saying?'
This is on a bridge call.
He said, "That is exactly
what I'm saying."
Chief Sund said that.
In response to that,
whoever on the other side,
from the representatives
from the Defense Department,
the discussion then switched
to talking about optics,
and boots on the ground,
and what that would look like,
which, you know,
in a crisis situation,
I don't care what it looks like.
It looks like help to me.
[crowd clamoring]
[Chief Contee]
So, I asked all who
were on this call,
"Are you saying that you're
not going to deploy personnel?"
"No, we're not saying that,
what we are saying is that
optics, and this and that
and so forth."
It was very disturbing.
[indistinct speech, clamoring]
This is a bad situation,
we have to do the best we can
to defend this Capitol,
to defend our democracy
with everything that we got.
Apparently, the National
Guard were blocks away.
That makes me mad,
because I don't even know-
I don't even wanna know
how many officers were there
that could have helped us...
I don't even wanna know,
because that will just
blow me up.
As someone who served six years
in the Virginia National Guard,
I was aware of the National
Guard and how they could
possibly respond.
I also knew that they
take time to respond.
I don't know why anyone
would've delayed that.
[clamoring]
My officers didn't know that
not only were they breaching
the West Side of the Capitol,
the East Side of the Capitol
was also being breached.
[indistinct speech, clamoring]
[crowd] (chanting)
USA! USA! USA!
So, they had essentially
been surrounded.
It just kept getting crazier
and crazier and crazier...
[crowd clamoring]
[protestor]
We're taking it!
We're storming the House!
I was saying to people,
"Where are we going?
What are we doing?"
It was a lot of, we, we,
we, we, we to comfort them,
you know?
And it's also a way to comfort
myself to like, you know,
so I can feel safer to let
you know that I am not a thr*at.
I have cameras,
but not a thr*at.
[indistinct speech]
[indistinct speech]
It's gonna be a stampede.
In my mind, I'm like, "I don't
know if I'm being dramatic,
but this might turn
into a stampede."
I don't know if we can
control this or contain it.
[clamoring]
[officer coughing]
[Erica]
I remember watching as police
officers were clearly exhausted.
It started to look abnormal.
And then there was like
a beeping in the office.
[device beeping]
[Erica]
I guess there's some sort of
security device in the office
that I never knew existed.
Then we started getting
directives from
our chief of staff,
from the office manager.
She told me to wear flats,
and she told me
to pack up my bags.
[indistinct speech]
[newscaster]
Person outside has attempted
to enter on the Senate side
of the building.
[Erica]
We had a television in the
office, we also had windows,
so we could see that they
were clearly, you know,
closing in on us.
[indistinct shouting]
But despite the beeping,
despite huddling
in the Congressman's office,
nothing made it real
until those people
actually got inside.
[clamoring]
[Rep. Raskin]
I first got a text from a
friend in California saying,
"Are you okay?
Is everything alright?"
And I said, "Yes,
what do you mean?"
And she said, "There's
a breach in the Capitol.
There's v*olence outside."
And I looked around the room
and I noticed that
lots of people
were getting messages
and people
were beginning to talk.
[indistinct chatter]
[clamoring]
[Rep. Raskin]
Within a couple of minutes,
Speaker Pelosi's security detail
escorted her off of the floor.
[crowd clamoring , cheering]
[device beeping]
[Rep. Raskin]
Some people on our side
of the aisle began to scream,
"This is because of you,
this is what you wanted."
[indistinct speech]
[Rep. Raskin]
I immediately looked back up
into the gallery.
Tabitha and Hank
were no longer there.
[indistinct speech in the back]
Oh, Nancy!
Where are you, Nancy?
[Erica]
Our office was right above
Nancy Pelosi's office,
the Speaker of the House.
Three of my colleagues went out,
and our staff assistant
said she came
face to face with one of
the insurrectionists.
We were in the room,
and she was banging on the door,
and she said, "They're inside.
They're inside. Let me in!"
They were extremely rattled.
And they said that we
needed to stay here.
Like we cannot leave.
That was, I think
the turning point for me.
[Rep. Raskin]
I called Julie,
my Chief of Staff,
and she said they were
back in Steny's office.
They had locked the door.
She said they had pushed all the
furniture up against the door.
The kids were hiding under,
uh, a desk.
And I learned later that Julie
had taken the-- the fire pick
outta the fireplace and was
wielding it as-- as a w*apon.
And I told her to protect
them with her life.
[crowd clamoring]
[protestor]
This is our f*cking house.
Our house.
[Erica]
I heard the elevator open,
and I heard them
come up the stairwell,
and so we decided
to stay in place,
turn the lights out and to
just be as quiet as possible
and to barricade the doors.
I had to assume the worst.
I had to assume these
people were armed.
You kind of go
into survival mode,
like I remember essentially
casing the office, like,
"What can I use as a w*apon?"
I remember feeling like
whatever is in here that is
heavy is what I'll have to use,
you know, if it comes to that.
[helicopter whirring]
[crowd clamoring]
[crowd] (chanting)
We want Tr*mp! We want Tr*mp!
[clamoring]
[man] f*ck you,
you f*ckin' tyrants!
Whenever I see footage from that
day, it makes my heart race.
You know, I can feel blood--
my blood pressure sh**t up,
and it makes me angry.
[protestor]
Lay down your weapons!
Those weapons belong to us!
That helmet, 4-5-1-8,
belongs to me!
Give me my helmet!
Give me my helmet!
Now, Hodges!
D. Hodges,
lay down your weapons!
4-5-1-8,
give me my helmet!
I want my helmet!
Gimme my helmet!
That helmet belongs to me!
I paid for that helmet!
I paid for that vest!
I paid for your salary!
Traitor!
[man]
You're a bunch of sheep, sheep!
[Daniel]
There was just sensory
overload of threats that,
I'm scanning the crowd
rather than paying attention to
what people are shouting at me
because I'm constantly looking
for, uh, someone who's about
to bring out a g*n or a Kn*fe
or something because I know
that they have them on them.
And I just have to hope
that if I see that I can
react before they do.
[crowd cheering]
[Daniel]
At one point I look over my
shoulder and I see the officers
trying to hold them back
and failing
because their numbers
are overwhelming.
[shouting indistinctly]
At that point, I see
the line break, essentially.
[man]
You better run, cops!
[crowd chanting]
[Daniel]
Each officer just engages
in a pitched battle
with whatever's
in front of them.
People swinging things at our
heads-- sticks, metal poles.
One Sergeant was hit
with a cattle prod.
There was a sledgehammer.
I had someone try
to gouge my eye out.
These people like to believe
that they support blue lives,
but someone came up to me
while I was surrounded and said,
"Things are gonna get real bad.
We need to get you out of here.
What can I do to help?"
And I said, "Go home."
And he said,
"Not gonna happen."
And at that point,
there's not much left to say.
[crowd clamoring]
[MPD]
Let's go, MPD
double time inside.
Let's go.
Let's go, MPD.
Stop f*cking looking
at them, let's go!
Get inside.
g*dd*mn, let's get inside!
[screams]
[Christina] To be honest,
I don't even remember
getting inside the Capitol.
We were funneled into
the Capitol at some point.
[indistinct shouting]
[Christina]
I don't know anything
about this building.
I remember running up to Capitol
officers, and there was
only a couple of 'em. I would
say, "How do I get here
and here?"
"I don't know.
I don't work in this building."
[crowd] (chanting)
Our house! Whose house?
Our house! Whose house?
Our house! Whose house?
Our house! Whose house?
Our house! Whose house?
Our house! Whose house?
Our house! Whose house?
[Erica]
There were two sets of doors
in the Congressman's office,
so my colleagues
on the other side of the office
barricaded one set,
we barricaded the other set.
Um, and you know, there was
just a lot of, you know,
I had a coworker who's
a really good friend of mine,
and she was, you know,
very, very pregnant.
So, you know,
she couldn't do it.
Um, and we had
photographers in the room.
Some of them were taking
pictures instead of helping.
And I remember being really,
really annoyed with them
at the time, 'cause
I was like, you know,
"This is not the time
for your Pulitzer.
Like, this is life or death."
And I mean, in hindsight,
I guess it's,
it's good that
it was documented.
But in the moment,
we are possibly, you know,
fighting for our lives.
We don't know what's
on the other side of that door.
[clamoring]
[knocking and banging the doors]
[Erica]
I vividly remember
hearing someone say,
"They're hiding from us,"
and like kind of laughing.
It felt as if they were like
taunting us, like, you know,
"Hello, anybody in here?"
And they were just banging,
banging, banging on the door.
And every time they
would bang on the door...
[cries]
Um, you think you're over it,
and then you're not.
Um, I just remember every time
they banged on the door,
um, you know,
we would all just run up
and push the door--
I mean, push the--
the table against the door.
Um, and those were
the most terrifying times.
[man]
Hey guys, hey hey!
[crowd clamoring]
[crowd] (chanting)
USA! USA! USA!
USA! USA!
USA!
[protestor]
We need people.
[indistinct shouting]
[Christina]
At some point, I finally
make it into the tunnel.
[clamoring]
[MPD]
Push!
There was no order
to go in there.
I didn't hear about
any level of importance
because I didn't have
my radio at that point.
It was just where the fight was,
and I knew I needed to go to it.
[clamoring]
Now, myself, these officers
that I'm with,
we're essentially trapped
in the Capitol
because you have
these thousands of people
that are now aggressively
trying to get in.
[cheering]
It felt like a, for-real
riot, like pushing back.
[Mel]
Felt like it was organized
and people knew
what they were doing.
You just don't go, you know,
there with tactical gear on
and looking like
you're m*llitary personnel
without knowing
what you were doing.
[man]
Supply lines coming through.
Keep in mind,
we have the vice president
and other members
of Congress in the building.
And if the building
is surrounded
and a person or group
of people access the tunnel,
it puts the leaders of
our democracy in a very,
very, very bad situation.
[banging door]
[Erica]
We were all just pushing
the table against the door
with all our might.
How do we know that
we're not running to the door
and they're not about to,
like, sh**t a b*llet through.
We had literally no idea.
The news started to spread.
And I just remember
getting message
after message after message
asking, you know, if I was okay.
And I remember saying to
each person, just please pray.
[Rep. Raskin]
Meantime on the floor,
it was total chaos
and bedlam by then.
There was this
extraordinary pounding,
barreling sound
coming at the center door
of the House of Representatives.
[indistinct shouting]
[woman]
Everybody stay down.
[clamoring]
[banging desks]
[Rep. Raskin]
I'll never forget that sound.
It was really haunting.
Just the sound
of basically a mob,
trying to barrel its way in,
smashing up against the door.
And people began
to run towards the door.
Then some Capitol officers
came in with their g*ns
and told all of us to get back.
And they stood by the door
with their g*ns drawn.
Everybody was imagining that
somebody was gonna come in
with an AR 15, that there
would be a mass sh**ting
and that it would
be focused on
the Democratic
side of the aisle
and the Democratic galleries.
So, they were telling us all
to take off our pins.
These are the little pins
that get us into the buildings.
And they're telling us,
take your pins off.
It makes you recognizable.
And then the Democrats
were saying,
get off of the Democratic
side of the aisle.
[crowd] (chanting)
USA. USA. USA. USA.
[protestor] (shouting)
USA. USA.
Meantime, we were all being
shepherded towards the front.
And we got up to the Speaker's
lobby and we went to the right.
To the left is where there
were a handful of officers.
And then the mob was on the
other side of the doors there.
-[indistinct shouting]
-[banging door]
[protestor]
Let me in!
[clamoring]
That's, um...
that's where one of
the protesters got k*lled.
[protestor]
Break that down!
Break it down. Break that!
Let's go.
-[indistinct shouting]
-[clamoring]
[g*nshots]
[protestor]
That sound like
a f*cking g*n sh*t.
Oh, sh*t.
Oh, my God,
a woman has been sh*t.
[protestor]
Where's she hit?
[officer]
Back Up. Back up.
[man]
Yo medic, where's she hit?
We can't save her.
Get the f*ck back.
We can't save her!
[officer]
You guys gotta calm down.
[protestor]
We got blood on the floor.
There's blood
on the floor of our f*cking...
[MPD] (over radio)
Report of one sh*t
in the Capitol.
Report of a sh**ting
in the Capitol,
trying to ascertain
information now.
Capitol command of recon,
report of one sh*t.
Capitol command of recon,
is this gonna be
an active sh**t event,
or is this just one sh*t?
I need more information.
This will be a
report of one sh*t.
Unknown about
the victim or the location.
[Chief Contee]
We just didn't know.
We were trying
to get confirmation.
Is anyone sh*t in the Capitol?
Were those sh*ts fired?
Were they some type
of incendiary device?
We don't know.
Was it just a distraction
to kind of get us
in a different area?
We did not know.
And I think that was probably
the scariest thing, not knowing.
[crowd] (chanting)
We the people! We the people!
[Mel]
This is...
It makes you seek
answers. So, what do I do?
Of course,
I'm talking to people.
I interview people right
then, right on the steps.
You know, right there.
Yeah... look at 'em.
And you know, I met this woman,
we were probably 10 feet away
from, you know, where people
were trying to get in.
She sounded so f*cking
nice and so sweet.
And she was so polite.
-You okay, baby?
-[Mel] Yeah. I'm good.
-I'm prepared to die.
-[Mel] Huh?
-Yes, I'm prepared to die.
-[Mel] Wait a second.
For my country, and my children
and my grandchildren, all day.
[Mel] You're saying you're
prepared to die today?
Yes, I love America.
And I was like, what?
You prepared to die?
I could not f*cking believe
what the f*ck
I was seeing and hearing.
I felt embarrassed, you know,
for all of us, you know,
for all of America, you know,
to hear what I was hearing,
to see what I was seeing, to
document what I was documenting.
[clamoring]
[woman]
Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!
We were all scared.
[cheering]
The manpower we had inside
the tunnel that day,
which seemed like
a lot, wasn't enough.
It was about maybe four
or five-ish people could
fit in there wide.
And it was a few dozen
officers in there
trying to hold back
the crowd outside.
[clamoring]
[indistinct shouting]
[Daniel]
You could see officers who were
getting injured at the front,
falling out, coming to the back.
The boiler room in the Capitol
became our decon room.
There were so many officers that
had their hands on their knees
because they couldn't see
because they're shut down
from the chemicals that
were just used against them.
And as those officers fell back,
we would move forward
and continue moving forward
until it was your turn
at the front, essentially.
[Christina]
It felt like w*r.
[crowd chanting]
[indistinct shouting]
[Mel]
I'm seeing scenes unfold
all around me.
This is our country!
This is our country!
Yeah!
[cheering]
[Mel]
I'm seeing anxiety.
I'm seeing sadness.
I'm seeing pain.
[crowd screaming, shouting]
You know...
twice when
I was there, you know,
I felt the emotion to cry.
And quite frankly,
probably I didn't stop myself.
Some sh*t distracted me
from that emotion.
It's like, Oh, sh*t,
there's a hockey stick.
Oh, sh*t, where the f*ck did
they get a ladder from?
Oh, sh*t,
what is this tubing?
Where the hell
did that come from?
The guy's head is all red
from pepper spray
and looks like he can't breathe.
Oh, sh*t, I'm getting
soaked up by the gas,
and I can't f*cking breathe,
and this sh*t hurts my eyes.
And why are people
keep returning
back to the front lines
to do it over and over again?
What is, what are they thinking?
[clamoring]
[Daniel]
I knew that this had to be
the biggest news story
in the world right now,
the United States
Capitol being under siege.
So, someone had to be trying
to get us help somewhere.
I was thinking, you know,
I hope I can hold on until
reinforcements gets here.
[shouting]
[crowd]
Our house! Our house!
[Rep. Raskin]
We went down some stairwells,
and they tried to keep us
together,
and we were running for safety.
All that sh*t...!
At that point, I was most
concerned for Tabitha,
Hank, and Julie
and wanting to make sure
that they would get outta
that room, which was
still where the mob was.
[crowd] (chanting)
USA! USA! USA!
[Rep. Raskin]
And I just kept doing the same
thing over and over again,
calling the Capitol
police, calling Julie.
I was obviously profoundly
concerned for them.
I just wanted to make sure
they were in touch
so they knew who to open
the door for and who not to.
[loud shouting]
[indistinct chatter]
These people had made it clear
that they wanted
to k*ll certain
members of Congress.
And even if they got one person,
that would change
the balance of power.
So, you know,
I was definitely motivated to--
to win the fight.
[clamoring]
[Daniel]
I found myself at the front
of the line in the tunnel...
and I braced myself
against the doorframe
so that any backward
force I experienced
wasn't pushed
on the officers behind me,
but rather against the frame
of the building itself.
[clamoring]
[Daniel]
Unfortunately,
it backfired on me.
My arms were trapped.
I was essentially
standing up straight,
unable to defend myself
and at their mercy.
[screaming and shouting]
[Daniel]
The man to my front, I remember
him just screaming at me
and, like, spit
or some kind of foam
coming out of his mouth.
It sounds, like, made up,
but that's what I remember.
[groaning, yelling]
He also was able
to wrestle away my baton
and b*at me in the head
with it.
I could taste blood
coming out of my mouth.
[siren wailing]
[shouting]
[crowd] (chanting)
Heave ho! Heave ho!
Heave ho! Heave ho!
[Daniel]
I could feel just starting
to lose all of my perception,
and I was worried
that I would fall out there
and become a liability to my
colleagues and then, you know,
eventually be dragged out
and k*lled.
Um...
I remember someone just
chanting, "Fight for Tr*mp.
Fight for Tr*mp.
Fight for Tr*mp."
Thankfully, the other officers
behind me heard me
and were able to create
enough space to get
me out of there.
Everyone who worked
that day was injured.
Everyone was att*cked.
Sometimes at great
personal cost.
[Christina]
The difference between
your typical angry riot
versus this was, this was...
it was personal.
And they were not stopping.
I wanna go home, and I want
every single officer that's
here to go home.
And my job right now,
their job right now is to figure
out a way to make that happen.
They fought like
hell, for hours.
That's not training that
police officers normally get.
Maybe the m*llitary,
they're trained for w*r,
fighting for hours,
days, months on end.
The fight that these
officers had in them,
even when they were injured,
to see them injured
and then get back
into the fight.
[Daniel]
The fight wasn't over yet, and
the fight needed everybody
that was able.
And I'm not dead yet.
[laughs] Uh, I was still,
uh, still in the fight.
[crowd] (chanting)
Freedom, freedom, freedom.
[crowd clamoring]
[Mel]
It was like complete
chaos all around me.
I'm seeing one of
the darkest days
in modern history.
I was scared
for my f*cking life,
but all I can think about is
making sure that I document
what's going on
to the best of my abilities.
[indistinct shouting]
Back up.
[grunting]
[sighs]
[Mel]
When I captured this image
and saw the police officer
that I now know
to be Michael Fanone,
get pulled down
from where he was
trying to stop the mob
of MAGA people
from getting inside...
[scoffs]
I'm like reliving it
in my brain right now.
Like, I have all of the frames
just going in my head.
The look
on this man's face was,
"I am about to f*cking die."
You don't see police officers
look like that very often.
Police officers are
stoic, proud, in control.
This officer was not in control
of a m*therf*cking thing.
If they wanted to k*ll him,
they would've k*lled him.
The man pleaded for his life,
told people he has kids.
Well, I'm thinking like, holy
sh*t, this man is about to die.
And here I am about
to capture this sh*t.
It's kind of crazy 'cause
if I had to put, you know,
a dollar on it, I would
say everyone there is,
"Blue Lives Matter,
Blue Lives Matter."
They didn't f*cking
matter that day.
I felt for him.
I have a son.
I thought about
what it would feel like for him
if some sh*t happened to me.
You know, that's
another human being.
Are there times that I
don't feel bad for cops?
f*cking right.
Derek Chauvin could kiss
my black ass, straight up.
That could be f*cking me.
That coulda been any of us.
Like, I'm pissed off right now,
just by talking about, you know,
the, what happened
to George Floyd.
And what's happened to many,
many other people that have d*ed
in the hands of police.
You know, it's,
I feel like if you weren't angry
about what happened...
[sighs]
...to George Floyd
on that f*cking day,
you're not a f*cking human.
You lack everything that
it takes to be a human being.
If that sh*t didn't
piss you the f*ck off.
[Mel]
America has been rearing
its ugly f*cking head
for many f*cking years
over and over and over again.
And I'm documenting it all.
All I can do is
get these photos out
and show the world you know,
what I saw.
This is real-life America.
So, yeah, I felt for him,
I felt for...
...us. I felt for Americans.
I felt for, you
know, this world,
this is what it's come to.
[MPD]
Pull. Pull. Pull.
[indistinct speech]
I came for f*cking w*r, man.
We have a national,
international, crisis
unfolding right here
in the nation's Capitol.
The gravity
and the weight of that is huge.
Knowing that the eyes
of the world
are literally watching
our democracy crumble.
[cheering]
[Senator Biden] (on microphone)
At this hour,
our democracy is under
unprecedented as*ault,
unlike anything we've
seen in modern times.
An as*ault in the citadel of
Liberty, the Capitol itself.
An as*ault on the people's
representatives
and the Capitol Hill police
sworn to protect them.
[President Tr*mp] (on video)
We had an election that
was stolen from us.
It was a landslide election,
and everyone knows it.
But we can't play into
the hands of these people.
We have to have peace.
So go home.
We love you.
You're very special.
You've seen what happens,
you see the way others
are treated that are so bad
and so evil.
[cheering, clamoring]
"I can't breathe!
I can't breathe!
I can't breathe!"
[clamoring, indistinct speech]
'Cause...
[indistinct shouting]
[crowd cheering, clamoring]
[indistinct shouting]
[indistinct chatter on radio]
[Mel]
How could anyone be proud
of what they were doing?
Even if you don't agree
with the election,
how could you be proud of that?
You've tried to storm
the f*cking
United States Capitol
building--
not try to storm--
you did, you got in.
And people d*ed.
When I began to see the
magnitude of the v*olence
that was taking place,
I just grew more and more,
I don't wanna say hysterical,
but more and more agitated
about Tabitha and Hank
not being with us.
I was aware of not wanting to
create surplus fear
and anxiety on their part,
but I was pretty angry.
[crowd] (chanting)
USA. USA. USA.
USA. USA. USA.
[Erica]
We just sat there in silence.
I remember thinking
a lot about my mom.
[sighs]
You know, I think,
well, you know,
my mom lives with me,
she has Alzheimers.
And I didn't necessarily want to
get in contact with her
because
I didn't want her to worry,
I just wanted to be there.
You know?
I think that's what
I thought about the most.
At the end of the day,
I'm kind of all she has.
So...
[crowd]
Stop the steal, stop the steal,
stop the steal.
[crowd] (chanting)
USA. USA. USA.
[siren wailing]
[Chief Contee]
We reached out far
and wide as we could
to get people here
to support us.
So, whether the National Guard
showed up, didn't showed up,
whatever the case may be,
there were police officers
that we were calling on from
all around this area to assist.
[siren chirping]
[indistinct radio chatter]
[protestor] (on speaker)
We love you, President Tr*mp.
-[banging windows]
-Traitors!
Traitors!
-[expl*si*n]
-My God. Oh, my f*cking God.
[fires smoke]
[clamoring]
When I saw that manpower
coming with the munitions
that we needed to handle the--
this crowd, that was...
"Okay, we're gonna
get through this."
[expl*si*n, clamor]
[Chief Contee]
Normally, it's
the federal government
that's coming to the aid
of local law enforcement,
local jurisdictions.
That day, local jurisdictions
came to support
the federal government.
Some of them are MPD officers,
some of 'em are
Virginia State Police.
You start seeing them
push the crowd back.
[indistinct speech, clamoring]
[smoke grenades blast]
[coughing]
[Chief Contee]
They're coming down
the West Front of the Capitol.
I, I remember having
a sense of like,
like, we taking it back.
[Erica]
We kept hearing those knocks.
One time, it was just such
a violent shaking of the door.
And that's when they,
they just kicked it in...
and their g*ns drawn.
That was by far the
scariest moment of my life
'cause I did not know
who kicked the door in,
and I saw all those g*ns.
And we just had our hands up,
and we had our hands up
for a long time.
You know, it's not a good
feeling having to walk around
the halls of Congress with your
hands up past insurrectionists
who actually should
have their hands up.
You know,
that's not a good feeling.
I will never forget,
in front of Congressman
Steny Hoyer's office,
there was a poster of John Lewis
that referenced, you know,
getting in good trouble,
and the poster
was ripped to shreds.
I just remember how
hateful that was,
to come in and rip up the poster
the way they did
and to just desecrate
the Capitol the way they did.
And I remember also walking past
one of the insurrectionists
that they had handcuffed.
And I just remember
looking at him, and he laughed.
You know,
it was... it was funny to him.
It was unnerving.
[Rep. Raskin] Finally,
Tabitha and Hank and Julie
were brought over to us
by the officers,
and it was tearful.
I was racked with
a lot of guilt.
I got someone who works with me
on my staff to drive them home.
Before they left, I gave them
a big hug, and it was again,
really emotional.
And I... said I was sorry.
And I said to Tabitha,
"The next time you come back
to the Capitol,
it's not gonna be like this."
And then she said,
"I don't want to come
back to the Capitol."
And it just...
it just rocked me.
[Mel] I turned
the ISO up on my camera,
and I had this dark photo
of this flag waving
and smoke,
this tear gas is coming down,
and there's hardly
any more people at the top.
It just was weirdly over.
[indistinct shouting]
[man] (on video)
So, earlier there was a lot
of people out here,
and I guess
it's thinned out a little bit.
Oh, so somebody got a souvenir.
Jesus.
You know,
I walked two blocks,
called a Uber.
I just remember looking at
who my driver was gonna be,
and I was so relieved that
this driver was a Black man...
because I really honestly
couldn't deal
with any more
white folks that day.
I couldn't, I was just over it.
I needed that at that moment.
I needed someone that
I could relate to,
that was on the same
wavelength as me,
that was the same...
that was a brother.
Like, I needed to tell that
Black man,
like,
what I just went through.
Then I went up to the room
and, um, almost started crying.
I almost started,
and I stopped myself
and I was like, "Alright,
well, I got f*cking work to do.
Let's not go through this
emotional sh*t right now.
You gotta f*cking just focus
and get this job done."
[indistinct speech]
And I'm thinking
about my boy who's over there.
You know, it's like I'm trying
to f*cking make it home
and get the f*ck up
out of here so I can see my son.
[indistinct remarks]
[Daniel]
Eventually, the fatigue
of the day caught up with me,
and when I saw that
I could take a break,
I went back inside and sat down.
I found out later on
I had a large contusion
underneath my hair.
Then I had a headache
for about two weeks.
So, I likely had a concussion.
If I had taken
another blow like that,
especially in the same place,
that very easily could have
caused serious brain
damage or been fatal.
[Rep. Raskin]
Our cops ended up
with broken jaws, broken necks,
broken arms, legs, fingers.
One officer lost three fingers.
People had traumatic
brain injury,
dozens and dozens ending up with
Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
It was just hard to believe that
this was going on in America.
And it was going on, you know,
downstairs from where we were,
and Donald Tr*mp wasn't
doing anything to stop it.
And the National Guard
was just absent...
and we were dumbfounded.
[reporter]
Congressman Raskin
is joining us now.
Congressman, obviously you
can't share everything with us,
but what have you learned
about what comes next?
[Rep. Raskin] (on telephone)
I don't know, but I'll tell you
this but every single member
that I've spoken to
is absolutely determined
to have us complete
the counting of the
Electoral College votes,
and, uh,
American constitutional
democracy will prevail.
[siren wailing]
-[birds chirping]
-[wind blowing]
[Rep. Raskin]
Nobody ever said
it would be easy.
But healing begins
with the truth.
I mean, there was an effort
almost instantly to bury
and rewrite the history
of what happened on January 6th.
You don't almost knock over the
government of the United States
by accident.
It's not an impulse move.
This was an organized
att*ck on the government.
if you allow for
there to be confusion,
propaganda
and disinformation about it.
Then that's very dangerous
because it conditions
the society to accept it
and licenses political v*olence
in the future.
[Christina]
It was a traumatic experience,
probably the most traumatic
event that I've dealt with.
But, for me, it's more of
losing trust in people.
You're talking about thousands
and thousands of people
that were willing to hurt us
to get what they want...
but then the next day,
probably go back to
respecting law enforcement,
right?
How does that work?
How does that make sense?
How am I supposed
to respect that and trust you?
It was embarrassing,
to see what I was seeing,
you know,
to be an American.
The type of things
that happened
that day, you know,
theoretically
are not supposed to happen
in this country.
We're America, the greatest
country in the world.
My photos are showing you
things that you already know.
It's not really
exposing anything,
it's just showing
you what's real.
Hopefully, you know, the photos
help make life better for...
Like, hopefully, my son doesn't
have to have a movement.
Be a part of a movement
like what I've been a part of,
or what my parents have been
a part of in the '60s.
But chances are,
he will be
because that's the way
the world works, you know.
The world is not perfect
and it can be
f*cked up sometimes.
[Rep. Raskin]
A violent insurrection
to overturn the election
is not an abstract thing,
as we've heard.
Hundreds of people
were bloodied,
injured, and wounded
in the process,
including more than
150 police officers,
some of them
sitting in this room today.
[Daniel]
It's a dark day for America.
The Confederate flag was inside
the United States Capitol,
the flag of traitors,
and I say that as someone
born below the Mason-Dixon line,
who loves the South.
White supremacists rummaging
through the belongings
of our elected leaders.
It's hard to imagine how that
could be victory, right?
But power was transferred
that day peacefully.
The t*rrorists, very fortunate
that they got to go home,
but more of them are getting
arrested every day.
And, um,
victory doesn't always look like
what we want it to look like,
but we did win.
We won that day.
[indistinct speech]
[Erica] When you go
through something like
that, you don't really think
about the impact it had on you
until you decide
to talk about it again,
and then a lot of that
fear and terror
and pain comes back.
But, you know,
I don't know that there's
a whole lot of use
in being angry.
I think that anger
should be channeled
into the work that
we should continue to do.
That's why I stayed that night.
Being there, you know,
in the face of terrorism
and showing them that,
you know,
despite your att*ck on
democracy, democracy prevailed.
[Chief Contee]
This is not the end of the book.
It's not the last
chapter of the book.
So, while I have an appreciation
for being
part of this historically
significant event...
I take comfort in knowing
that it's not the last chapter.
I think about what's ahead.
How strong we are.
After enduring all of these
things yet here I stand,
our country.
After going through all
the things that we go through,
democracy still moves forward.
And our last chapter is
still yet to be written.
[indistinct speech]
[Rep. Raskin]
But this is not the
problem of one party,
it is the problem of
the whole country now.
American democracy,
Mr. Chairman,
is a precious inheritance,
something rare
in the history of the world.
So, justice is part
of what we're doing,
but I would say
paramount is the truth.
We want to set out
a complete,
detailed historical record
of what happened and why.
And we've come a long way,
but obviously the progress
can be lost also
in the wink of an eye.
In a world of insurgent
authoritarianism,
of racism and antisemitism,
let's all hang tough for
American democracy.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I yield back.
So, eternal vigilance,
that's the price of our liberty.
That's the price
of our democracy.
We've all got
to stay on the case.
It's something we
take care of together.
Sixth, The (2024)
Moderator: Maskath3