Thread by @Brandi_Buchman

Today at 8:30AM MT/10:30AM ET - @CREWcrew go to trial in Colorado seeking to remove Donald Trump from the ballot in 2024, arguing that his insurrectionist conduct tied to Jan. 6 disqualifies him from serving in any public office under Section III of the 14th Amendment.

Hodges says at this pt in video he is headed to the west terrace of the Capitol. People are shouting at them, calling them traitors, oathbreakers, wrong side of history.
He says at the time, he took those words to mean --
Objection by defense.

Judge Wallace overrules Trump's team.
Hodges continues: I understood the shouts to mean that they disapproved of our being there, protecting the Capitol. it was antithetical to their goals. by protecting the capitol, we were traitors to the US.

CREW atty asks why did officers place hands on each others shoulders as they moved toward captiol?
Hodges testifies they did this spontaneously so they could move through crowd.

Hodges describes his assault, tells court how someone tried to steal his riot baton. The rioters told him he wasn't on their team. He took this to mean that they wanted him to stop defending the Capitol.

(This may seem glaringly obvious but these are the details that matter)

CREW wants to admit additional body camera footage; court agrees and there is no objection yet from Trump lawyers or CO GOP intervenors

Hodges now describes what court saw: I attempted to forge path through mob to join defense of west terrace, looked back saw platoon again being assaulted as they tried to make forward progress. he started pulling rioters off the officers by their backpacks, someone saw him and...

Hodges: started attacking him, elbowing him, kicked in chest, ended up on hands and knees with medical mask over his eyes so he was blind for a moment.
Man assaulting him had a carrier vest on with panel.

CREW lawyer plays video of man asking Hodges what he could do to help. Hodges told him to leave. The man said "that ain't gonna happen" and again Hodges told them to leave.
What did Hodges think that meant?
Trump lawyer objects. Overruled. Hodges can say what he thinks ppl meant

The man told Hodges things "were going to turn bad" meaning he thought it would get worse. The man told Hodges others were coming from the back; this told him there was premeditation.
When Hodges told them to leave when he asked to help, why? His presence was biggest prob to us

He was a part of the mob and the mob was the threat, Hodges testifies re: the man who refused his order to leave the Cap as officers were overrun

Now more video plays on screen that Hodges says describes how remnant of CDU42 was attacked. This is again his body camera footage. He has reviewed it prior to today he says and it fairly depicts what he experienced on Jan. 6.
The video plays

Now Hodges explains the video: it shows him again trying to forge a path through the mob as officers head to west terrace. This time, he was successful and got through crowd to area of front of west terrace and joined a police line being held there.

In the crowd, he saw people destorying property, breaking down bike rack barriers into poles to use as weapons; he heard people using megaphones encouraging violence; munitions going off, chaos, no one obeying lawful orders to go home.

Did everyone in crowd try to attack him?
No.
Even peaceful ppl made it difficult for you that day?
yes, Hodges said, we had no idea who would become violent or not. the crowd made it so when mob fell back, they had a defense.

In video there is a blaring alarm sound. Its a broadcast order to disperse and Hodges said, it's very, very audible.
Where crowd was standing in video, was that open tog general public?
Hodges: No.

Police deployed OC spray, pepper spray to disperse the crowd. In his experience, crowds typically disperse. It's very persuasive in getting them to change their minds about what they're trying to do; gets them to break up into individuals instead of functioning as a group...

Another video plays. This time Hodges is in front of west terrace and there's a police line shown in video.
Hodges: The mob was able to break through the police line (shown)

We will now take a short break and resume in roughly 15 minutes.

For clarity - I did mention above - but for the record - I am not physically in Colorado today covering this, rather I have access via a remote media line. But whether remote or in person, thank you for following along with me today!

Unfortunately, today will be the only day I will live tweet trial proceedings in Colorado since after today I'll be off through Nov. 2. Had this time set aside long before trial. My apologies! But, my colleagues at @lawcrimenews will have reportage up throughout the week.

We should resume momentarily.

And we are back. The trial resumes.
We are looking at body camera footage from Officer Danny Hodges.

CREW atty asks Hodges if he sees the yellow Dont Tread on Me flag - he does/did. The Gadsden Flag is a revolutionary war flag of US; he saw confederate battle flags; saw a flag advertising Trump for 2020 election; flag of crossed rifles signifying military willingness to violence

Defense objects and Judge Wallace sustains it. CREW moves on. What else did he saee in crowd?
Articles of clothing with Trumps name, Trump 2020 advertisements; gods, guns, trump slogan on clothes; stop the steal slogan was prevalent, Hodges says, heard chant 'fight for trump'

At the trial where voters seek to remove Donald Trump from the ballot in Colorado in light of his insurrectionist activities around Jan. 6; DC MPD Officer Hodges testifies that the "most prevalent" chant he personally heard as he came under assault that day was "Fight for Trump"

A video plays. A man is speaking. I can't hear it. CREW atty asks Hodges how he interpreted it.
He asked us to join them in their take over of the Capitol. He says if police don't they will "overrun us" and asked Hodges if he thought "their little peashooters" would stop mob

More bodycam footage reviewed by Hodges now.
I wish I could more clearly see this footage from the courthouse as it plays!

Hodges says the video depicts police line at front west terrace as mob reached them. They breached through us.
The sheer size and number of ppl involved made it impossible to get the line back where it was; they continued to assault us,beaten, pushed, kicked.

Hodges: I was overwhelmed, being pushed by several at once until I was pushed back against a waist high wall.
one of the assailants attempted to gouge out my eye.
Officer Hodges voice has been steady the entire time but he becomes slightly emotional here.

"He grabbed my face and tried to dig at my eye and push it out the best he could," Hodges tells the court as he recounts how the massive mob breached the Capitol on Jan. 6 and rioters attacked him.

He heard individuals chant "This is our House" (A common refrain on 1/6, also invoked by Proud Boys as they marched on Capitol)

Hodges testifies as he watches a video - a man with a knife approaches, he and another officer try to detain him but are unable; the crowd size made arresting individuals impossible or near to it. They were too overwhelmed trying to defend themselves.

More video plays.
CREW atty asks Officer Hodges to describe where he started at top of video played in court and where he ended up.
Hodges: At west terrace, ascended stairs of inaugural stage to west terrace proper; this is roughly 2:33PM

Key bit of testimony in terms of chronology:
At the beginning of the video, he enters doorway at west terrace entering tunnel that goes into crypt. He is coughing in video because of CS gas or tear gas in the air.

(Recall, Trump sends tweet at 2:24PM attacking Pence)
CREW atty: Were police in control of the terrace at 2:33PM?
Hodges: Yes
CREW: Able to maintain control the rest of the day?
Hodges: No

Now Hodges says at this pt in video he is in the tunnel that connects the west terrace to the crypt.
What was happening?
Hodges; In video, we're forming a line inside the tunnel attempting to defend the entrance from the mob.

Hodges: The scene inside was a sensory overload. It was chaotic, it was extremely loud,a larms going off, lots of people yelling, chemical munitions, strobe lights, intense body to body contact.

Hodges: As we got closer to where the assailants in police line was, the more compressed everyone got until there was a lot of pressure being exerted on you.
CREW: By 245 pm had mob taken control of west terrace?
H: Yes

C: What would happen if mob broke thru
H: We had no idea if they could gain entry thru any other means. we believed if they were to defeat our line in the tunnel, they'd have unfettered access to the capitol itself & make good on all of their threats.

CREW: On who?
Officer Hodges: Congress, the vice president.

Hodges then explains why officers used interlocking shield defense method; he had not ever had need to use it before jan. 6 as a member of DC Civil Disturbance Unit

Judge Wallace asked Hodges for a clarification as well on what the "tunnel" in the west terrace is, if it is underground. He explains it is more like a hallway leading inside.

Now more video footage plays.

Hodges explains being pinned against a door with his police shield. A rioter "took advantage of my vulnerability" ripped his gas mask off his face, punched him face several times. His arms were pinned by his side, he ripped away Hodges riot baton and strike him in the head

Hodges: I was experiencing head trauma i endured, chemical irritants, crushing pressure from crowd and i could feel my senses diminishing. I was still trapped though so I did the only thing I could do, called for help.

Hodges: Fortunately, other officers were able to extricate me from my position and I fell back at the rear of the tunnel.
Did you hear the mob shouting heave ho?
Hodges: I did

What were they doing?
Hodges: The mob shouting heave ho was them coordinating their movements to break down defense line, synchronizing movement to multiply force, break line and gain access to Capitol.
Timestamp in tunnel was 2:55.

In next exhibit (20) this was around 3:10PM, Hodges describes how he by this time fell back to recover.
He had his shield returned to him later by another officer. The rest of the day: he stood by awaiting for further orders until around midnight,

Hodges cont: when they were told they could clear the Capitol.
They left the grounds. Those who needed immediate medical attn went to hospitals, those of us who did not and were still on duty reported to downtown and awaited further orders.

Hodges: About 1 am we were told we could go home and we went back to our district from there and went our separate ways.

How would you characterize what you witnessed on Jan 6?
Hodges: The events were horrific, it was a terrorist attack on the United States of America, an assault on democracy and an attempt tp prevent the peaceful transfer of power.

How many protest events has he worked?
Dozens
How did they compare?
Hodges: The events of Jan. 6 are incomparable to any other riots or protests or 1A assemblies I have policed. There is just no comparison in the level of violence and stakes.

What were you fighting for on 1/6?
Objection. Relevance. Overruled
H: I was fighting for democracy, for the safety and wellbeing of members of congress, vice president, congressional staff. I was fighting for myself and my colleagues and everyone who participates in our democracy

That ends direct from CREW.
When cross begins by Trump's atty, there is a moment or two before he begins. As he starts, Trump lawyer asks Hodges if he would characterize anyone who protested in DC on 1/6 a member of mob....

Hodges says no, he would only consider those who were at Capitol part of mob as he described events.

Earlier Trump atty asked Hodges if he was aware other protesters were in DC that day anywhere else; Hodges says he doesn't know about those ppl, just those at Cap

Moment ago Trump lawyer also asked if he heard whether there were upwards of 120k people at the Cap on Jan. 6? Hodges said he had not heard this. He estimated closer to 9500+, under 10K

Earlier the Trump lawyer was Gessler. I cannot identify who this is currently crossing Hodges.

Trump lawyer: how many ppl prosecuted for firearms crimes?
Would it surprise you to learn it was a total of 5? And one arrived on 1/7, so it was really 4 on Jan 6?
H: Ok
Note: They didn't prosecute Oath Keepers for bringing an arsenal of weapons because they stashed them in Va

Trump lawyer asks Hodges if he was diagnosed with having a concussion and if he sought treatment? Hodges says he did not because the treatment process would have been the same to care he received.
Cross ends for Trump atty
Now CO GOP atty crosses Hodges

It went by VERY fast, CO GOP was trying to establish timelines and where Hodges was stationed on Constitution Avenue. He affirmed and that was that.
Judge Wallace thanked him for his service and now the parties move to the next witness.

Now testifying: Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell)

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif) is appearing remotely. He has been a member of Congress going on 11 years, elected in 2012 and sworn on Jan 3, 2013.

Were you at the Capitol on Jan. 6?
Swalwell: Yes I was; on the 6th that was the day Congress votes to certify the electoral college votes sent from December after being ratified by the states.

Had he ever participated in counting of electoral votes before Jan. 6 2021?
Yes, Swalwell says, in Jan 2013 for reelection of Obama. Participated on Jan. 6 2017 for election of Trump.

The process of counting votes is largely ceremonial; there is a joint session of Congress; VP presides over the count and each state alphabetically has their votes called. If there's an objection, you need somebody to meet your objection from the other chamber.

House to object, Senator must too.T hen both bodies go back to chambers and debate objection and come back to resume count
How are objections resolved?
Swalwell: Through debate and through a vote.

Swalwell explains: The VP presides over the count. There are tellers seated just below him from both chambers, both parties who tallied the counts sent from the state and the VP literally, kind of like an award show, reads how the state went for each individual candidate.

In Trump certification, there was no house objection that was cosigned by a senate objection, so they never adjourned for debate.

What happened with those objections?
Swalwell: Biden asked if a senator also objected. None did. So, then VP Biden opened votes for each state.
Swalwell said he personally did not object in 2013 or 2017

Was it ever discussed that Hillary Clinton could be declared winner of the 2016 election?
Never discussed to his knowledge by any of his colleagues

Swalwell says he did not recall hearing colleagues saying they should overturn popular vote during Trump 2017 certification;

Swalwell testifies that prior to the election Trump told the press he wouldnt honor the outcome if he lost, when the election was called for biden, after Trump's many lawsuits were dismissed, Trump ramped up his rhetoric

Pelosi told him day before that she wanted Swalwell to be speaker designate, to gavel them in, basically.
That's how each day starts.

Swalwell: I gaveled us in, led us in pledge of allegiance. There was a new chaplain, asked the chaplain to lead us in prayer and read an appt of tellers that each party in each chamber had designated to participate in the count on jan. 6...

And then i adjourned and all of that lasted no more than 10 minutes, Swalwell ends.
He says he remembered that morning before getting to the Capitol, he went for his usual jog. He recalls seeing someone wearing military fatigues who wasnt military and he covered his face

Swalwell said the person's presence made him uncomfortable and he didn't want to be recognized by him in that moment.
For the rest of the day, he explained, things took on a more negative feel (paraphrased, didnt get exact quote)

Swalwell says of Trump: When he aimed his supporters at the Capitol during his speech, when he said "We're going to the capitol" a lot of us looked at each other in the cloak room and looked at each other in this, 'oh god, what does this mean for us' kind of feeling?

There were about 2 dozen or so members on the floor, including leadership. Arizona was first state to be challenged, Gosar challenged. Pence asked if a senator would co-sign and Ted Cruz signed off.
So they adjourned joint session to go chambers for debate. Pelosi took gavel.

Pelosi taking the gavel led to debate over Arizona.
At some pt thereafter, Swalwell learned rioters had breached the Capitol,,,

Swalwell: Myself and everyone around us had their phones out and were watching intently. We were also rec'ing a number of USCP alerts telling us about mob assembling, the pipe bombs...

This was occuring between 1-2pm, Swalwell says, the ppl in mob staged at Cap during speech or ppl at Ellipse who moved to Cap were all descending

Swalwell recalls Pelosi being asked to abruptly step off the podium and Steny Hoyer, then maj leader and James Clyburn, their details hurriedly went to them and took them off the floor. This was about the 1 o'clock hour.

At this pt, Swalwell says Rep. James McGovern of Houe Rules Cmte stepped up to podium. He notes at that point after pelosi was whisked out, debate did not stop, it was a seamless transition as they proceeded to debate about Arizona. But then, McGovern had to suspend debate...

There was a security officer in the lower podium who told lawmakers that people were inside the building unauthorized and that tear gas could be dispersed. Lawmakers were told there were gas masks under their seats in the chamber; told them to be ready to move for evacuation

Until that moment I did not know there were gas masks under our seats, Rep. Swalwell says. (You and me both)

Who were you sitting with?
Swalwell: Moved from sitting with Rpe. Barbara Lee and Bustos, to Gallego of Arizona.
His wife had reached out to him and said Reuben probably wouldn't follow USCP orders and he'd want to fight mob (He did save journalists that day too!)

What did Gallego do on Jan. 6?
Swalwell says Gallego immediately recognized that he and others did not know how to put on the gasks masks, let alone use them. Gallego used his teeth to tear open packages containing masks; he helped women first, he handed Swalwell an pen....

Rep. Gallego hands Rep. Swalwell a pen as the rioters are overtaking the Capitol. Gallego tells him, "If any of them come near you, just put that in their neck"
Swalwell recalls how this felt. He was in disbelief.

Swalwell: A chaplain who led the prayer that day, went back to the podium on lower level and without being prompted, started asking if everyone would pray with her.

After they prayed together, what happened next?

Swalwell says lawmakers pushed furniture against the doors in the chamber because they could hear the pounding on the doors and the shouting of the rioters outside.

There's a set of double doors, glass, he could see USCP stacking furniture and chairs leading into the speaker's lobby and stacking as high as they could with what they had. They sat and waited for instructions on the evacuation

What did the rioters sound like?
Swalwell: It was haunting. The chambers are mostly windowless. So having just learned a bit on our phones about bombs around the building, knowing mob had breached multiple perimeters... the uncertainty of what they wanted and what they would do.

CREW asks about his personal safety concerns? it escalated from gas masks to a pen in my hand to a prayer from the chaplain and it was when the chaplain read that prayer that i finally texted my wife something i did not want to text her.

Swalwell: I had been telling her its going to be fine, i didnt want to worry her.
They had been following Trump's tweets.
Swalwell: We connected the presidents tweets to our own safety in the chamber and also the integrity of the proceedings taking place

When this tweet was sent, did Swalwell notice any change outside the chamber?
We didn't feel more safe. It wasn't as if the mob subsided, Swalwell says.
Cap security told them they were working on an evac route; the pounding and shouting continued

This was near the pt we would ultimately leave the floor but you could still hear the sounds of the pounding outside the chamber and the screaming of the protesters, Swalwell says of Trump's 2:24PM tweet.

I will need to cut off live-tweeting by 3PM today so I can put together a report, friendly warning.

Swalwell says he did not play a role in helping people evacuate. He followed police. He is the son of a police officer. He is a rule follower. Swalwell says Rep. Gallego did not follow police orders; he stood on chairs in gallery telling members they'd be OK, fyi on gas masks

So i lost my connection for roughly 5-10 minutes. Sorry.
I'm picking up now:
Swalwell recalling Trump making a statement during the afternoon. Exhibit of Trump is entered. It is Trump's video remarks during the rioting.

They are also having tech issues. So the court is taking another brief break, roughly 10 mins

Since tech problems prompted the break close to when I had anticipated ending my live-tweets - I'm going to conclude them now.
Report to come for Law&Crime.