Lawmakers stood before the House late Thursday to tell their personal, often stunning accounts of the siege of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, preserving for the record their own memories of the most violent domestic attack on Congress in the nation’s history.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., led colleagues in the hourlong session days before the former president’s impeachment trial, saying their stories need to be told at a time when some in Congress and the nation are trying to minimize the damage of Jan. 6 and “move on.”
“Sadly, this is all too often what we hear from survivors of trauma,” said Ocasio-Cortez, who was criticized by detractors this week after sharing her own harrowing story of hiding that day, fearing for her life.
She said, “Twenty-nine days ago, our nation’s Capitol was attacked. That is the big story. And in that big story lie thousands of individual accounts, just as valid and important as the other.”
One by one, the Democratic lawmakers — no Republicans participated — shared their remembrances: seeing the hundreds of rioters massing outside the Capitol and hearing the taunts, screams and glass breaking. And then “the feeling,” as Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., put it, “of being trapped.”
The lawmakers had been tallying the Electoral College vote certifying Joe Biden’s election victory when President Donald Trump, who had refused to concede, encouraged a rally crowd of supporters at the White House to head to the Capitol and “fight like hell” for him.
Phillips said that, as he heard the screams, he realized a pencil was about all he had for defense. He thought about moving over to the Republican side of the House chamber “so we could blend in.” He and others believed the rioters would “spare us if they simply mistook us for Republicans.”
Then, he said, he realized something — for his colleagues who are not white like he is, “blending in was not an option.”
Five people died, including a protester, Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by police inside the Capitol, and U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was mortally injured confronting the mob. Three other people died of medical emergencies.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., called on colleagues to understand that white nationalists are a serious domestic threat; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., broke down in tears.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., said that, as representatives in Congress, the attack against the Capitol was an attack on their constituents.
“We are their voices here,” he said. “We must not sweep this under the rug.”
(AP)
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6 Responses
This moronette who “feared for her life” wasn’t even in the building ate the time.
She was in her office which is located in the adjacent Canon Building, to which the “rioters” didn’t even come close.
Total fabrication. As much as the media creates fake news, these idiots conjure up nonexistent “facts” out of thin air, and grossly overreact to other minor occurrences.
Liberalism is an incurable disease.
Why is she leading, if she wasn’t even in the building that was attacked?
IS there no end to the AP lies, or to YWN’s willingness to publish them?!
AOC is a filthy liar. She was NOT IN THE CAPITOL when the break-in happened. She was in her office in the Cannon building across the street, where nobody broke in. She was never in a moment’s danger. And to top off her lies she invented a brand new story, never before told, that she was severely assaulted in the past, and this “triggered” her trauma from that assault. Nobody with any amount of brain believes her — even her Democrat colleagues who pretend to believe her don’t really.
She is a “survivor” just like that other liar, David Hogg. And if they are “survivors” then I survived a terrorist attack in Israel, even though I was never in any danger, simply by being close enough to hear the gunfire, which is closer than either of them ever were.
Oh, and nobody saw “the hundreds of rioters massing outside the Capitol”; they were not rioters, they were completely peaceful protesters, exercising their constitutional rights. Even that small number of them who later engaged in violence had not yet done so, so they were not rioters then.
Then, he said, he realized something — for his colleagues who are not white like he is, “blending in was not an option.”
Another blatant lie. Why would non-white members have trouble pretending to be Republicans? He is deliberately trying to insinuate that Republicans are all white.
Brian Sicknick, who was mortally injured confronting the mob.
Another lie. He was not injured at all. His cause of death is still unknown.
Another AP article – another torrent of sheker.
Was she even there?
How about testimonies from the millions who were impacted much more seriously by the months-long riots that some of these same politicians defended and approved of. And with all the problems and pandemics and mutations the best these politicians can come up with is narcistic self-indulgence diversions.