WASHINGTON — It’s the sound of thousands of fists slamming on doors and windows that lawmakers can still hear when they close their eyes and take themselves back to Jan. 6, 2021.
The terror that coursed through their bodies as rioters — many armed — breached the U.S. Capitol and demanded Donald Trump remain in power is something they can still tap into. The weight of a single question that raged in their minds that day still fresh: Would they get out of the building alive?
“These insurrectionists were calling to kill [then-Speaker of the House] Nancy Pelosi,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said. “They were threatening to kill all of us. I didn’t know if we were going to get out.”
At one point, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said, he opened a “go bag” containing a gas mask.
“I had never done that before or since,” he said. “You never think a day like that will come.”
