The incident began when officers, who were at 4th St. Metro Police Chief Cathy Lanier said, and the weapon was recovered. Three people were taken into custody, D.C. It was hard for me to see the damage the rioters left on the historic Capitol building and watch custodial staff who keep the Capitol running every day clean it up.— - Police chased a car with a suspect armed with a machine gun through Washington, D.C., streets this afternoon, prompting a brief lockdown at the Capitol complex. When I reached the CNN House booth, I dropped off my stuff and then I ran downstairs to outside the House chamber and took video of staffers cleaning the House chamber. I didn’t know the extent of the damage until later.
#Capitol lockdown live windows#
As I walked back into the Capitol building, I saw the destruction by the Capitol rioters – windows were broken, trash was everywhere. 6, police escorted us back into the Capitol building through the underground tunnels. I continued to text sources and send in reporting of what I was hearing was happening. Then we stayed in another location in another Capitol building for about four more hours waiting for the all-clear to return to the Capitol. I gathered my stuff as fast as I could and ran out with the dozen or so reporters and staff who were locked in with me. when police ran in and told us we only had a few minutes to evacuate. The rioters were just outside our workspace in the hallways of the Capitol but the wooden doors were thick and locked and they were never able to come in.Ĭillizza: How long did it all last? At what point were you able to sort of go back to “normal”?Ī lot of that time for me is a blur but I remember being in the workspace in the Capitol until around 3:30 p.m. It took all of 5 minutes for that to happen.Ĭillizza: Where were you when the rioters actually entered the building? Did you stay there or did you go somewhere else?ĭiaz: I stayed in the CNN House booth (a closet-sized space where we work when we’re at the Capitol) for a few hours until police rushed in and evacuated us to another Capitol building through the basement tunnels. The staff locked the doors and within moments we heard the rioters in the hallways outside the workspace. That was the moment I knew the day wasn’t normal anymore. I’ll never forget the moment when police came into our workspace and told us we couldn’t move because rioters were in the building. THE POINT - NOW ON YOUTUBE! In each episode of his weekly YouTube show, Chris Cillizza will delve a little deeper into the surreal world of politics. At the time I thought, “There’s no way they’ll come into the building.” I was wrong. And as I covered the joint session of Congress to certify the election results, I kept glancing outside to see where the protestors were and each time I looked, they were closer to the Capitol building. In my workspace on the House side of the Capitol building, I could see the protestors outside the building.
#Capitol lockdown live series#
But as I watched CNN’s coverage of the protest, I started gathering the day would be different.Ĭillizza: At what point did it become clear to you that this wasn’t going to be a normal day on the Hill? Was it a single moment or a series of moments?ĭiaz: It was a series of moments. It’s one of the reasons being a congressional reporter is so special – the constant reminder of the freedom of speech surrounding the building you work in every day. There are protests around the Capitol all the time. 6 that it would also mean evacuating my workspace and hiding in another location just a few hours later.Īs for the “Stop the Steal” rally, I wasn’t concerned at all. I was prepared to work late – I just didn’t realize when I arrived at the Capitol at 9 a.m. I’ve grown accustomed to the long days that come with this job and I didn’t think this day would be any different. Were people aware of the “Stop the Steal” rally? Worried about it?ĭiaz: For me, I thought it was just going to be another normal day on the congressional beat. Our conversation – conducted via email and lightly edited for flow – is below.Ĭillizza: Describe the mood at the Capitol when you arrived for work on January 6. On the anniversary of that fateful day, I reached out to Daniella to talk about her recollections – and what memories have stayed with her. What transpired over the next 21 hours – rioters storming the US Capitol in an attempted coup – was history in the making. She was braced for a very long day as Congress was set to formalize Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Janustarted like lots of days on Capitol Hill for CNN reporter Daniella Diaz.
0 kommentar(er)
