Page:Materials in Support of H. Res. 24.pdf/16

 “hazardous and could cause great harm to public safety” near the Capitol, and further reports confirmed a “hooded figure with a pipe bomb.”

Over 50 police officers were injured while defending the Capitol. In one instance, President Trump’s supporters grabbed a police officer by the helmet and dragged him down the stairs. Others “kicked and punched the officer, and one man even bashed the prone figure repeatedly with a pole flying an American flag.” One officer, Brian Sicknick, died the following day from injuries suffered during the attack. As of January 10th, at least 90 had been arrested, with more arrests expected.

In the midst of this violence, the Secret Service evacuated Vice President Pence from the Senate floor, and Capitol Police attempted to evacuate or safely secure Members of Congress and their staff. Members were instructed to remove their identification pins in order to avoid targeted attacks. Gas masks were dispersed, and Members were ordered to shelter in place, instructed to stay under their desks or lie face down on the floor for their protection, or escorted by armed Capitol Police out of the building.

Members have spoken publicly about the harrowing experience. Representative Jamie Raskin asked his chief of staff to “protect [two of his visiting family members] with her life,” as she stood guard at the door clutching a fire iron. Representative Jason Crow, said that he had not been in a similar situation since serving in Afghanistan and described the chaos on the House floor: “[T]he police weren’t able to get us out so they actually closed and locked the doors and started to take furniture and barricade the doors and the windows with furniture as the mob tried to ram them down and was breaking through the windows.” Representative Susan Wild, described hearing gun shots at approximately 3:00 PM and then Capitol Police screaming “Get down! Get down!”, as she crawled on her hands and knees through the gallery, witnessing her colleagues making