Thread by @19thnews

🧵 The story of the Capitol riots is being told again this week as the Senate holds Donald Trump's #ImpeachmentTrial.

Here is what almost two dozen lawmakers told The 19th about January 6, in their own words. bit.ly/3qjmg91

The 19th reached out to all 143 women in the 117th Congress to ask about their experiences.

Twenty-three, all Democrats, shared their points of view, many remembering new details after a month of processing. bit.ly/3qjmg91

Some lawmakers recalled texting their loved ones goodbye while in the House chamber.

Others remembered barricading themselves in offices, while several described running through the hallways toward safety, terrified that they'd be killed at every turn. bit.ly/3qjmg91

Lawmakers had been told to get to the Capitol by 9 a.m. on January 6 to certify the legitimate results of the 2020 election.

@RepBarbaraLee: "I decided to wear tennis shoes that day, because I knew that something was going to go down." bit.ly/3qjmg91

.@RepWilson: "I was scared to come to the Capitol, because I've had Trump supporters call my home saying they were going to kill me and others have sent me a noose." bit.ly/3qjmg91

Shortly after 1 p.m., VP Pence and senators joined House members in the House chamber to start a session to confirm election results. Then, each went to their separate chambers to debate challenges.

@RepSpanberger: "All of a sudden, there was a rumble of tenseness in the room."

.@RepMarieNewman: "I started seeing rioters scale a wall around 1 or 2 p.m. It looked like a practiced military exercise; I saw some even had maps in their hands. I kept thinking the National Guard would show up in a jiffy, but they didn't." bit.ly/3qjmg91

The rioters broke into the Capitol about 2:15 p.m. Both chambers adjourned a few minutes later.

@RepLawrence: "Soon after, we heard banging on the door. ... I thought 'Oh my God. Am I going to die today? Is this it? Am I going to die today?'" bit.ly/3qjmg91

.@RepEscobar: "I could not believe that these people had made it all the way up the Capitol steps and that our constitutional duty was being obstructed. It had not really clicked in a meaningful way just how much danger we were in." bit.ly/3qjmg91

📸 Members of Congress were instructed to put on these gas masks. bit.ly/3qjmg91

Rep. @RosaDeLauro: "I was lying on the floor, and I had very little juice left in my phone, but I called my husband. I was afraid to say 'I love you,' because it harkened back to 9/11." bit.ly/3qjmg91

.@RepSaraJacobs: "When the elevator doors opened, we started running through hallways. ... I remember thinking to myself over and over again: I don't even know how to get out in normal times. It's my fourth day. I don't know how to get out." bit.ly/3qjmg91

Rep. @NormaJTorres: "...my son, who is a police officer, called me. I answered the phone and said, 'Sweetheart, I'm fine, and I'm running for my life. I cannot talk to you right now.'" bit.ly/3qjmg91

.@RepTeresaLF: "When my son and I finally got home ... he looked at me and said, 'I just need to be by myself,' and I thought, 'My God, this kid just went through a traumatic event.' That's when I cried ... All the trauma just keeps building." bit.ly/3qjmg91

.@RepFletcher: "I volunteered at a domestic abuse shelter, and it felt like people kept saying, 'don't impeach the president or it might happen again.' That's just the language of abuse."

Read the full story by @marielpadilla_: bit.ly/3qjmg91