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I spoke to 23 Congresswomen in the past several days about their experiences on Jan 6. Many are still processing the Capitol riot & got emotional reliving it.
Here's how the historic day unfolded for these women, in their own words: https://19thnews.org/2021/02/women-in-congress-capitol-riot/ @19thnews
Here's how the historic day unfolded for these women, in their own words: https://19thnews.org/2021/02/women-in-congress-capitol-riot/ @19thnews
@SaraJacobsCA: "I was concerned about violence at protests, but I always thought that would stay outside."
@TeresaForNM: "My 20-year-old son — the youngest of three boys — came with me to the office that day. He knew it was going to be a long day, but he was excited so he brought a pillow and wore his suit."
@RepBarbaraLee: "I decided to wear tennis shoes that day, because I knew that something was going to go down. I remembered on September 11, I was in the Capitol and we had to evacuate early that morning, too. I had high heels on then."
@RepWilson: "I was terrified that day, because I knew something bad was going to happen. I had even called the Capitol Police before I came to D.C. and told her they needed more precautions, taller barriers and reinforcements."
@RepSpanberger: "All of a sudden, there was a rumble of tenseness in the room because clearly there was something wrong."
@BettyMcCollum04: "I told my fellow to grab her laptop so I could walk her through the tunnel to leave. I didn’t want her near that crowd. We were just a minute away from the exit when a police officer stopped us and closed the door."
@Marie4Congress: "It looked like a practiced military exercise; I saw some even had maps in their hands. I kept thinking the National Guard would show up in a jiffy, but they didn’t."
@RepLoisFrankel: "A couple minutes later, I heard a loud alarm: “Alert, alert, alert! Take cover, lock doors, get gas masks.” It was alarming. I made eye contact with [Rep.] Grace Meng, a colleague and the only other person in the room."
@RepMaloney: "I couldn’t see what was happening on the House floor, but I could see the west front of the building. I noticed a large group of people walking through an entrance that isn’t open to the public."
@RepLawrence: "An officer with a walkie-talkie interrupted the proceedings, went to the mic and told us: 'The Capitol has been breached.' Soon after, we heard banging on the door, and I thought 'Oh my God. Am I going to die today? Is this it? Am I going to die today?'"
@RepJudyChu: "I was shocked out of my mind when I saw the rioters smashing the windows & attacking the Capitol police. I saw the Confederate & Trump flags & locked my door, turned the lights off & refused to come out for at least 6 to 7 hours — 2 hours longer than I needed to."
@RepHaleyStevens: "Right around 2:30 p.m., we started getting a lot of text messages — including from my fiancé back home in Michigan — as people watched the news. 'Are you alright? Are you alright?'"
@RepSpeier: "I was lying on the floor in the 2nd row of the gallery. And then I heard a gunshot ring out. I placed my cheek on the marble floor & thought, 'Oh my God, I have survived the jungles of Guyana & here I am, in my own country, and I may be losing my life.'"
@rosadelauro: "The glass was being smashed by the rioters, so our security told us to get down and someone shouted to take off our congressional pins. I was lying on the floor, and I had very little juice left in my phone, but I called my husband."
@RepAnnieKuster: "We got to an elevator, and I was having kind of a panic attack and couldn’t breathe. I said, 'What if the elevator doors open and we got shot?' An officer stood in front of the doors and assured me, 'Ma’am, I am here to protect you.'"
@RepEscobar: "I was watching the police officers with their guns pointed at the terrorists. I could see their faces through the broken glass on the door, and I remember feeling very afraid for the police because I thought they were going to get shot in the head."
@NormaJTorres: "We kept running down the stairwells. During this time, my son, who is a police officer, called me. I answered the phone and said, 'Sweetheart, I’m fine, and I’m running for my life. I cannot talk to you right now.'"
@RepKathleenRice: "We ran for nearly 15 minutes through the basement tunnels. We didn’t see any rioters, but at one point, the officer told me to take my shoes off, because we had to run faster. It was just horrifying."
@RepSherrill: "It felt like it took forever to get to the safe room because as we got to the bottom of each stairway or went to turn a corner, we didn’t know if we would encounter a mob."
@RepCheri: "While in the crowded safe room, we were sent Skittles and water; we hadn’t eaten lunch. At one point, the chaplain came in and said a prayer. After several hours, Speaker Pelosi finally came and told us that we weren’t going to let the mob win."
@RepBonamici: "Around midnight, I tried to take a little nap in my office. I was physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted, but I couldn’t even close my eyes. What if someone tries to knock on the door? What if someone got in my hallway?"
@SusieLeeNV: "By Saturday, I had to turn the TV off because it was triggering to hear that noise and hear how much danger we were really in. That’s when I broke down. And now I have to ask myself, 'Am I even safe in my own district? In my own home?'"
@RepFletcher: "Many, many years ago, I volunteered at a domestic abuse shelter, and it felt like people kept saying, 'don’t impeach the president or it might happen again.' That’s just the language of abuse."
I'm grateful to each of these women for sharing their recollections with me. Several told me it wasn't easy, but it was important to remember.
Read the full article here: https://19thnews.org/2021/02/women-in-congress-capitol-riot/
Read the full article here: https://19thnews.org/2021/02/women-in-congress-capitol-riot/
