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'It was Americans attacking America': Journalists recall what happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6

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As we remember the horrific attack that happened last year at the Capitol, we acknowledge not only all the lives lost but also those who stood strong and delivered us the news and updates as the day unfolded. Journalists, alongside our lawmakers, became targets for these terrorists who chose violence in an attempt to conduct their failed coup.

On the anniversary of the riot and insurrection at the nation’s Capitol one year ago, journalists have shared footage and written op-eds today to remind us that this was not a peaceful protest; it was a deeply traumatizing event on national and personal levels. Mobs swarmed journalists at the Capitol on Jan. 6, threatening and physically attacking them and wrecking their equipment.

Here’s a compilation of the stories they’ve shared today, and a chance to pay respect to these brave journalists and how they handled themselves in the face of danger.

“I’ve witnessed plenty of violence and upheavals before, coups and revolutions, when I was doing conflict coverage abroad, but I am still shocked to experience it here. It was Americans attacking America,” Associated Press photographer J. Scott Applewhite said.

Journalists from the AP live-streamed an event where reporters shared their experiences. You can watch it here.

YouTube Video


Jan. 6th was my first day covering Capitol Hill. I remember trying to frantically race around a building I hardly knew. Paramedics scurried past us, rushing a woman out on a gurney. Blood covered her face, gushing down her body. My reporter’s notebook: https://t.co/f6gcuKQZrp pic.twitter.com/XBO4OrihZK

— Rachel Scott (@rachelvscott) January 6, 2022

From The Washington Post:

Embedded Content


After I was evacuated from the House chamber and taken to a safe location, I did a Twitter livestream where I spoke about what I experienced on Jan. 6 and answered a few questions. Here is Part 1: https://t.co/EFPOiirc4U

— Tia Mitchell, AJC’s Washington Correspondent (@ajconwashington) January 6, 2022


‘Senators evacuated the building! Now or never! … Bring the line forward!’ Journalist @SandiBachom embedded herself in the Capitol riot and captured what she believes was a ’rehearsed and orchestrated’ attack pic.twitter.com/Bq7rhcpoue

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) January 12, 2021

In an interview posted to CNN, CNN reporter Daniella Diaz also recalled her experience at the Capitol that day, sharing that she thought it would be just another day of reporting on Capitol Hill.

Diaz said:

“It was a series of moments. In my workspace on the House side of the Capitol building, I could see the protestors outside the building. And as I covered the joint session of Congress to certify the election results, I kept glancing outside to see where the protestors were and each time I looked, they were closer to the Capitol building. There were thousands of them. At the time I thought, ‘There's no way they'll come into the building.’ I was wrong.

I'll never forget the moment when police came into our workspace and told us we couldn't move because rioters were in the building. That was the moment I knew the day wasn't normal anymore. The staff locked the doors and within moments we heard the rioters in the hallways outside the workspace. It took all of 5 minutes for that to happen.”

Another reporter with CNN, Alexander Marquardt, recalled the day and live tweets he shared as the mobs infiltrated the Capitol.

Protesters swarmed and mobbed my team at the Capitol after figuring out who we are. Extremely aggressive, had to get out fast.

— Alexander Marquardt (@MarquardtA) January 6, 2021


Even a reporter from Fox News recalled the grim events, comparing other days of covering Capitol Hill in a column published Monday.

"I recall those solemn scenes now when I pass through the Capitol Rotunda," Pergram wrote. "Now I recall the sheer size of the mob marauding through the Capitol Rotunda. Amid the statues of George Washington and Martin Luther King. Between the paintings depicting Pocahontas and James Madison. I will remember the testimony at a Senate hearing of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Carneysha Mendoza, her skin seared by chemical agents after fighting the hooligans," Pergram continued, sharing a personal anecdote from the Capitol police officer.

"Mendoza says her Fitbit revealed the struggle was so intense last Jan. 6 that it showed her 'in the exercise zone for four hours and nine minutes' as they attempted to physically blockade the doors," he added.

"I have entered the Speaker’s Lobby thousands of times over the years," he wrote. "Grabbing a quick comment from Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., as he emerged up the stairs. A remark from former Rep. Steve Driehaus, D-Ohio, shortly before the ObamaCare vote. Now I remember this is where Capitol Police Officer Michael Byrd gunned down Ashli Babbitt as she attempted to vault a transom. This unfolded as a horde battered the doors of the Speaker’s Lobby with flagpoles and broke windows in an effort to swarm the House chamber."


This piece was difficult for me to write. The anniversary of January 6 should be a moment to acknowledge our collective grief - but how can we move forward when there is no agreement on what happened, or how we should respond?https://t.co/4I3qtjdA2k

— Grace Segers (@Grace_Segers) January 5, 2022

“I look at it through a filter of, how would other people be treated if they did this? How would the justice system work if this were a different crowd, a crowd that looked different?” CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues said. “I don’t know. I’ve covered the social justice movement; I have covered a lot over the last 30 years. It isn’t a little infuriating when people try to dismiss it. I don’t know if people understand the weight of what happened, in terms of what this means for democracy.”

One of the most popular pieces of footage from the mob-inflicted day was HuffPost’s Igor Bobic's video of Capitol Police officer Euguene Goodman leading the pro-Trump mob away from the Senate.

In an interview with Insider, Bobic recalled the events that led up to his video.

"I remember having my phone out," Bobic told Insider. "I knew I wasn't supposed to record in the hallways. There was a split second where I was like, 'Maybe I'll just have it on for photos.' I knew there was going to be something worth recording. But I didn't know what it was going to be. Then, just luckily enough, I ended up recording it. And it was how I got that video. And I'm really glad I did.”

"Without it, Goodman's heroism might not have come to full light. How he pulled that crowd back up the other direction," Bobic added.


Here’s the scary moment when protesters initially got into the building from the first floor and made their way outside Senate chamber. pic.twitter.com/CfVIBsgywK

— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 6, 2021


Bobic noted that one of the places he used to consider one of the safest to work no longer feels as such.

"Every time I walk down those steps, I think about it," Bobic said. "Goodman's still there, on his post, every day, doing his job. And we lock eyes, and it brings me back to that moment. And I wish it didn't have to be like that."

ABC News’ Jonathan Karl shared an eight-minute-long video that is a reminder of how scary the event really was. It’s included here in his article, “Beyond the riot, Jan. 6 was a dangerously close call. How Trump’s plot nearly succeeded.”

Republicans have been quick to complain that marking this anniversary is “dwelling in the past,” but to move on from these events, we have to be open to reality that it was traumatizing. Without naming that trauma and discussing the repercussions of the day’s events, and allowing those who were present to share their stories, we cannot process and address the underlying issues that got us there. And without that, we can’t progress as a country and do better.

Jake Tapper: I want people to remember how they feel right now because there is going to be an attempt by the people who were a part of this effort to whitewash what's going on right now. pic.twitter.com/pWXw2h3Brz

— John Kerr (@JohnnyHeatWave) January 6, 2021


Thank you to every journalist who stepped into danger to keep us informed.

"The Capitol is where I work every day, and I am a familiar face to most police. When those on the chamber floor shouted up at me to get out, I told them I was fine and refused to leave. This is what we do: We stay and report," Applewhite said.

We appreciate and salute you.

***​

*Did you see a reporter’s or photographer’s story I missed? Please feel free to share it in the comments below!*
 
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