Chilling riot videos mark Day Two of Trump’s trial
Never-before-seen footage played before Senators showed how Pence, others were rushed to safety
WASHINGTON: New footage presented on Wednesday by House impeachment managers on the second day of Donald Trump’s Senate trial showed in chilling detail how close the rioters had gone to US lawmakers during the storming of the Capitol on January 6.
Never-before-seen videos and audio clips showed that police officers begged for help as they were overwhelmed by violent rioters. The rioters were seen roaming the hallways of the Capitol building, looking for top officials.
In the videos, they are seen calling out for former vice-president Mike Pence, to “hang” him,
and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - “Nancy? Where are you, Nancy?”
“You were just 58 steps away” from that mob, Representative Eric Swalwell, one of the nine House impeachment managers, told the senators at the trial in which Democrats are seeking to convict Trump - an unlikely outcome on the numbers front.
The evenly split Senate
requires at least 17 Republicans to vote in favour of convicting Trump, which is highly unlikely as things stand.
Majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, was seen being led up a ramp by his security detail in one clip from January 6, which in the next instant, showed them hurrying back the same walkway, dashing away perhaps by an onrushing mob.
In another video clip, Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican, and an aide were seen being redirected by a Capitol police office.
Another video showed former Pence and his family, who had accompanied him to the Capitol that day, being led to safety down a stairwell.
House managers used footage from existing videos and those from Capitol’s security cameras that had not been seen before. They were played with the slogans and profanities muted.
On Day 2 of the impeachment trial, the House managers made their case, showing how Trump had incited his supporters and then refused to stop them.
It wasn’t clear if the presentation persuaded enough Republicans to convict Trump.