After the Riot

It’s been 100 days since the attack on the Capitol, and those who were inside still struggle with their memories.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah., Remmington Belford, Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

By Frank Thorp V
April 16, 2021

When a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6,  the world watched as the rioters entered the building, breaking windows and pushing through barriers. But it was more than just physical space that was violated. The seat of government was occupied by hundreds of lawmakers and their aides, building staff members, and journalists.

Some inside tried to flee. Some tried to barricade themselves in offices. Others inside swung into action. Journalists mobilized to document the attack in real time. The Capitol Police tried to protect the people inside.

The mob tried to stop the certification of the election of Joe Biden because they believed the false claims of then-President Donald Trump that rampant fraud had stolen victory from him. Many who experienced that fury say they continue to process the trauma of the day. And all want the events to be remembered as a lesson for Americans, and the world.

“I hope people will remember, with some solemnity, the fragility of democracy,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. “It's a hard-won gift we've been given and it can slip away real quickly. So I hope people remember the precariousness of it all.”

Below are portraits of some of the people who experienced the attack first-hand.

“I think of it all the time. And I think about the enormous responsibility on the shoulders of our Democratic caucus. There's a lot of anger in the land.”
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., barely missed the mob, thanks to quick-acting police officers, whose actions were made clear only later on the building’s security footage.

“All of a sudden, a police officer with a big bulletproof vest and a submachine gun across his waist grabs me firmly by the  collar. I'll never forget that feeling, and he says, 'We're in danger,’” Schumer said. “You could see us running out the other way, we were within 30 feet of these insurrectionists. If one of them had a gun, or two of them had run ahead and blocked off the door, I might not be telling you this story this day.”

Schumer believes the riot will continue to affect how he works.

“I think of it all the time. And I think about the enormous responsibility on the shoulders of our Democratic caucus. There's a lot of anger in the land.”

“I hope they remember that it happened, and that the previous occupant in the White House, incensed, incited and invoked and supported that egregious display of hatred, division, bigotry, and I'll venture to say racism. I hope they remember how it truly happened.”
Remmington Belford

Remmington Belford

Remmington Belford, communications director for Rep. Yvette Clark, D-N.Y., is still sorting through the trauma of the day. 

“I've been very vocal about my feelings, very honest,”  Belford said. “And also, my, my sense of pride in being an American after this. I think that it ignited especially people who work here on Capitol Hill, that are on the right side of history.”

Belford hopes the attack isn’t forgotten or rewritten to an “alternate reality.”

“I hope they remember that it happened, and that the previous occupant in the White House, incensed, incited and invoked and supported that egregious display of hatred, division, bigotry and, I'll venture to say, racism. I hope they remember how it truly happened.”

“Truth matters, that how you talk about things matters, that lies can lead to violence and that's exactly what we saw. And that's why it's important to hold truth to power because this tragedy wouldn't happen otherwise.”
Igor Bobic

Igor Bobic

Igor Bobic, a senior politics reporter with  HuffPost, filmed Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman trying to lead the mob away from the Senate chambers, a moment of heroism the world may not have known had the veteran journalist not remained feet away to film the moment.

“I feel like I'm bonded — bonded to those stairs because I’m always going to think about him running up and me trying barely to keep up ahead of him, and that was kind of the first moment where everything kind of went wrong,” he said.

Bobic, who worked in the Capitol through the pandemic, continues to walk the halls covering Congress.

“Truth matters, that how you talk about things matters, that lies can lead to violence and that's exactly what we saw. And that's why it's important to hold truth to power because this tragedy wouldn't happen otherwise.”

“We didn't fail. We protected every member of Congress, not one member of Congress was hurt with a scratch that day … We protected every staffer that was in here, everybody was accounted for, nobody was hurt. The only casualties we had were obviously officers, but at the end of the day, we did our job.”
Officer Anthony M. Booth

The Capitol Police

The Capitol Police were the first to encounter the mob as it arrived on the grounds. 

“We're all in there together, trying to hold that door. Even though it was locked, you know, the lock got breached,” said Lt. Rani E. Brooks, describing the attempt to keep rioters out of the Capitol. “It was awful. I mean, and that went on for about three hours and the commander kept saying, ‘Hold on, hold on, help's on the way, help's on the way.’ That was the only thing that kept me going … the two and a half, three hours …  it literally and figuratively, it was forever.” 

Officer Brian D. Sicknick died after being assaulted while trying to keep the mob from entering the building. Two more officers, one from the Capitol Police and another who was there that day working for Metro police, later died by suicide. 

The trauma of the day continues for many of the officers. 

“I would say I'm still processing it. I'm still trying to process it,” Capt. Carneysha C. Mendoza said. “So I still have moments where  I get really upset. And I'm really still trying to process it.” 

Officer Anthony M. Booth wants the public to remember  the sacrifices made by the Capitol Police. 

“We didn't fail. We protected every member of Congress, not one member of Congress was hurt with a scratch that day … We protected every staffer that was in here, everybody was accounted for, nobody was hurt. The only casualties we had were obviously officers, but at the end of the day, we did our job.”

Pictured above, left to right; Lt. Rani Brooks, Officer Anthony Booth, and Capt. Carneysha C. Mendoza.

“I hope that  I and others who come here will remember that when we succumb to untruths as a nation, that it can lead to violence and even death as it did.”
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah

Sen. Mitt Romney

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, tried unsuccessfully to leave the Senate chamber and is pictured standing only a few feet from the location where Officer Eugene Goodman stopped him from walking into the mob.  Moments later he was told to evacuate the Senate chamber. 

“That’s when I was most frustrated and angry, angry at those who had gone along with the big lie, and told the American people that the election had been stolen,” he said. “And I pointed to a couple of people who had participated in that ruse, and said, ‘You have caused this.’”

He hopes that the Capitol never feels “normal” again for lawmakers who lived through the riot.

“I hope that I and others who come here will remember that when we succumb to untruths as a nation, that it can lead to violence and even death as it did.”

“It's always going to be different. I don't think it'll ever be the way it was before  Jan. 6. And that doesn't mean it can't be  good, it can't be very special, because it still  is. It’s just going to be different.”
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo.

Rep. Jason Crow

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., was in the House chamber and hid in the gallery as police drew their guns below. One officer shot and killed a rioter.

“There was a moment there, about 20 or 30 minutes, where we didn't know whether we're going to make it out, and whether we had to fight our way out,” said Crow, an Army veteran.

For him, the Capitol will never be the same.

“It's always going to be different. I don't think it'll ever be the way it was before  Jan. 6. And that doesn't mean it can't be  good, it can't be very special, because it still  is. It’s just going to be different.”

“They failed. They failed in stopping the certification of a president of the United States. And they did so because members had the courage to come back.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office was a prime target for the rioters, who ransacked the desks while her staff barricaded themselves in a room.

“They destroyed things here, broke windows, you know, a mess, but things don't matter to me,”  she said. “But seeing the dramatic effect it had on my staff is something that will live with me forever, and for which I will never forgive them.”

Pelosi hopes history remembers the end of the day, when lawmakers returned to their chambers to finish the job of certifying the election.

“They failed. They failed in stopping the certification of a president of the United States. And they did so because members had the courage to come back.”

“Who knows what those guys had in store. So I'm kind of over it but not over it. And I keep a vigilant eye too, I keep an eye out all the time.”
Dion Montague

Dion Montague

Dion Montague worked in the Capitol cafeteria and hid in a staff area when the rioters breached the building. 

“The only point that I was scared when I was in this locker room hunkered down,”  he said, “I heard police officers running back and forth and grabbing people and ID'ing them, some people who didn't belong here. I was scared then.” 

Montague said he worried about the intent of the rioters and whether they wanted to harm him. 

“Who knows what those guys had in store. So I'm kind of over it but not over it. And I keep a vigilant eye too, I keep an eye out all the time.”

“I worked too damn hard to leave the Hill because of some delusional anti-American un-American terrorist that decided to do what they did to this place. So that's it.”
Sara Guerrero

Sara Guerrero

Sara Guerrero, press secretary for Rep. Sylvia R. Garcia, D-Texas, was in the Capitol with her boss when the attack began and described a sense of shock followed by fear.

“It was shocking to be on the floor in that way with my boss,”  she said. “And then when we heard the banging, and I was watching, listening to members pray out loud. And I'm being told to like, get ready to duck and cover, and like grab books to throw. That was fear.”

Guerrero said the fallout of the attack could mean more congressional staffers leave government and head to private-sector jobs, which may feel safer. But she won’t be among them.

“I worked too damn hard to leave the Hill because of some delusional anti-American un-American terrorist that decided to do what they did to this place. So that's it.”

“After several hours, we'd arranged to get Tabitha and Hank taken home. And I hugged Tabitha goodbye. And I said I promise it won't be like this next time. And she said, ‘Dad, I don't want to come back to the Capitol.’ Then for some reason, that just you know, that just overcame me.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.

Rep. Jamie Raskin

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., was on the House floor when the attack happened, receiving condolences from other lawmakers because his 25-year-old son had died only days before.

“There was chaos and pandemonium on the floor, people trying to put on gas masks and figure out how they work,”  he said.

Raskin’s chief of staff, Julie Tagen, his adult daughter, Tabitha, and her husband were in the Capitol, barricaded in a room during the attack, taking a fireplace poker off the wall to defend themselves as the rioters banged on the door.

“After several hours, we'd arranged to get Tabitha and Hank taken home. And I hugged Tabitha goodbye. And I said I promise it won't be like this next time. And she said, ‘Dad, I don't want to come back to the Capitol.’ Then for some reason, that just you know, that just overcame me.”

Photo Editor: Elise Wrabetz

Art Director: Chelsea Stahl