House members and seniors had to suspend talks, leave the rooms, and shelter in their place when rioters stormed the Capitol building on Wednesday afternoon, with some destroying federal buildings and ransacking offices, including the those of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Senate parliament.
The collapse of the U.S. Capitol delayed Congress’ counting of state election votes for nearly six hours. Later Wednesday night, lawyers returned to complete the work, rejected a cower, and tested the impact of Biden’s election.
A few of those lawyers explained their findings to CNN on Thursday.
Representative. Annag custer
Democratic Representative. Annie Custer of New Hampshire on CNN’s “New Day” recalled how the 1ff ET session of Congress “had a very peaceful start.”
But in the first half hour, Custer said, lawyers were informed that the Capitol building had been broken into by the public and that was when leadership was deployed to safety.
Custer said she was in the balcony of the House chamber Wednesday with other members, watching what happened when the chaos erupted.
“We were locked in by Capitol Hill Police. We had a shelter in place order, and then finally we had to evacuate. They told us to use the gas masks under the seats, and we had to scrape over the entire length of the balcony – terribly scary. And everyone had to find out, “Custer told CNN ‘s Alisyn Camerota.
She also said that as she left the room, she looked back and saw the police blocking the door.
Custer said she was “afraid” it would be a “catastrophic event.”
Representatives. Jason Crow and Susan Wild
Democratic Representatives. Jason Crow and Susan Wild were among the 100 or so people locked in the House chamber.
Crow said they were evacuating from the House chamber when they stopped, and for 15 to 20 minutes, they were surrounded by the rioters with “no way out.”
“I haven’t felt that way in over 15 years since I was a Ranger (Army) in Iraq and Afghanistan, where I thought I had the potential to fight my way out, “Crow told CNN.
The Colorado Democrat said he returned to “Ranger mode” and began trying to help Capitol Police get members out of the situation.
“So I went around and started locking and making sure the doors were locked and closed, moving some of the other members away from the doors, directing the other members with their pins. removed so that they could not be easily identified in case the mob broke through. , I had a pen in my pocket that I could use as a weapon, “Crow said.
“What was going through my head was terribly scary. Unlike Jason, I have no fighting experience. I am very thankful I was in the fox hole with Jason. This is the closest thing to I never came across something like that, “Wild told John Berman of CNN. “It was a scene of total upheaval and chaos, at least for someone who was never in that kind of experience.”
Representative. Grace meng
Democratic Representative. Grace Meng from New York frightened her all her life, she texted farewell to her family, telling them she loves them. She told CNN that she put a shelter in its place in a room near the rooms of the house when she heard the crowd coming.
“The room I was in was inside, I started hearing a lot of stomping and snting outside. And it so happened that I had the TV, and I realized they were literally outside my door. And as I was so scared.I did that, not feeling that someone could come and get into me in time if they could break through. So I barricaded, I moved a lot of furniture that was I was physically able and tried to barricade the door, “Meng said on” New Day. “
Meng said five to six hours later, Capitol Police came and took her out of the room, and she entered the rest of her colleagues as they reunited. to count the vote.
Representative. Nancy mace
On “New Day,” a Republican representative swore in. Nancy Mace of South Carolina condemned the violence and called it “non-American.”
Mace told CNN’s John Berman that “Trump’s entire legacy was erased yesterday.” She urged the Republican Party to “start over” and “rebuild our party.”
Asked how hard the Congress Republican who served during Trump’s presidency for Wednesday’s violence was, Mace said, “They should take 100% responsibility for this. They have made this possible.”
She said she was “disappointed” after some of her Republican colleagues voted to oppose Pennsylvania’s election votes after the uprising effort ended.
“I try to persuade my colleagues to expand that leadership, stop this astronomy, stop complaining and use the language of the strict election,” Mace said.
Mace said she was so worried earlier in the week about Wednesday’s rally in Washington that she sent her two children, who she planned to take with her to Capitol Hill, on a flight back home to South Carolina.
CNN’s Jeremy Herb, Clare Foran, Manu Raju, Phil Mattingly, Daniella Diaz, Lauren Fox and Ali Zaslav contributed to this report.