During the Democrats’ presentation on day two of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, House managers showed previously unreleased security footage from the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The footage is chilling. One clip shows the first wave of insurgents breaking in through a window, many carrying weapons and wearing tactical gear, overwhelming the lone law enforcement officer covering that hallway. After the window is broken, rioters pour into the building. It’s a scary scene.
Impeachment managers play unreleased security footage of rioters breaking into the Senate side of the Capitol.
A lone officer sprays one coming in but gets overwhelmed by the numbers. pic.twitter.com/GDkLZsRMTs
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) February 10, 2021
They showed more footage, illustrating just how close the mob came to the senators in this chamber—a mere 58 steps as Rep. Eric Swalwell paced it out. These rioters armed with baseball bats, flag poles, plastic handcuffs, and more—who had erected actual gallows outside—these people were just one hallway away from many of these senators Swalwell is addressing.
The mob, with flex cuffs and rioters in full military gear, was only a mere 58 steps away from Senators and staff.
Down just one hallway.
If the doors had been breached minutes earlier, imagine what the flex cuffs could have been used for. pic.twitter.com/V6JVUagVyW
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) February 11, 2021
They showed footage of Officer Eugene Goodman running through the hall and redirecting Republican senator Mitt Romney away from the oncoming mob.
WATCH: New footage shows Officer Eugene Goodman rush Sen. Mitt Romney away from the rioters https://t.co/rnCk9EvEDw pic.twitter.com/iIJIkV5VBJ
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) February 10, 2021
They showed footage of the mob chanting “Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!” as well as footage of Pence and his family being swiftly evacuated.
“Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence” pic.twitter.com/5Fw0hZq1VH
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 10, 2021
They also played footage showing how the mob brutally attacked Capitol police officers, and how that attack on officers lasted for hours.
‘They stole his badge, his radio, his ammunition magazine, and they tased him, triggering a heart attack’ — @RepSwalwell recounted the brutality Trump supporters inflicted on Capitol police officers while attempting to breach the building on Jan 6 (warning: distressing) pic.twitter.com/OTy3Hc9oeU
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 11, 2021
“I’m sorry I have to show you the next video,” Swalwell said before playing a truly disturbing video of an officer screaming while being crushed against a doorway by rioters. “But in it you will see how blessed we were that on that hellish day, we had a peacemaker like officer Hodges protecting our lives, our staffs’ lives, this Capitol, and the certification process.”
House managers show video of Officer Hodges crushed against doorway as rioters breached the US Capitol on Jan. 6. pic.twitter.com/JIfDDAw3lX
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 10, 2021
By the way, the impeachment managers also made it exceptionally clear that this premeditated attack on the Capitol was instigated by weeks of Donald Trump’s own statements, calling for a “fight” and encouraging his supporters to come for that fight against Pence and Congress on this specific day, Trump’s “last chance to stop a peaceful transition of power.”
They also made it clear that he was far from disappointed by the result.
pretty damning pic.twitter.com/b58wHwvTpO
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 10, 2021
Despite this detailed and convincing breakdown of the very real danger these lawmakers were in that day—how angry and violent the rioters were and how committed to keeping Congress from certifying these legitimate electoral votes for Joe Biden—the thing Republicans found most troubling was that the Democrats would bring all of this up in the first place.
Lindsey Graham called the presentation of this footage “offensive and absurd.”
No one found it offensive or absurd. They found it extremely uncomfortable, because they know it’s 100% true and are finding it increasingly difficult to rationalize their vote to acquit him or find someone else to blame. As evidenced by Exhibit A: Your tweet. https://t.co/kdUKFpNrpD
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) February 11, 2021
Other senators were seen doodling, napping, or just generally not paying attention during these presentations. Many of them told reporters afterward that they hadn’t seen anything that even nudged their opinion away from Trump’s total acquittal.
These are the same people who have spent years mastering the art of overreacting. If someone yells at them at a restaurant or an airport, they say America is falling apart. If Black Lives Matter protesters (or someone infiltrating a BLM protest) breaks a window or tags the wall of a business, they call it violence. If a handful of peaceful protesters gather outside their home, they say they’re being “terrorized.”
But now their boss literally encouraged a mob to violently attack their place of business and hunt them down, killing a police officer and injuring many more, and they are so committed to this grift that they’ve convinced themselves (or are forcing themselves to pretend) that they’re just totally fine with it. It’s bonkers but this is the path they’ve chosen for themselves!
(image: Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
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