Pence Was In Danger From Rioters

[BarryLaverty]

This is a blow by blow account of it...anyone who thinks he wasn't in danger from the mob might need to think again. What could have happened if they found him? What if they had found Pelosi or her staff? 

(Washington Post)

Politics

How the rioters who stormed the Capitol came dangerously close to Pence

By 

Ashley Parker, 

Carol D. Leonnig, 

Paul Kane and 

Emma Brown

Jan. 15, 2021 at 8:56 a.m. CST

 

The violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 came perilously close to Vice President Pence, who was not evacuated from the Senate chamber for about 14 minutes after the Capitol Police reported an initial attempted breach of the complex — enough time for the marauders to rush inside the building and approach his location, according to law enforcement officials and video footage from that day.

Secret Service officers eventually spirited Pence to a room off the Senate floor with his wife and daughter after rioters began to pour into the Capitol, many loudly denouncing the vice president as a traitor as they marched through the first floor below the Senate chamber.

About one minute after Pence was hustled out of the chamber, a group charged up the stairs to a second-floor landing in the Senate, chasing a Capitol Police officer who drew them away from the Senate.

 

Pence and his family had just ducked into a hideaway less than 100 feet from that landing, according to three people familiar with his whereabouts, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. If the pro-Trump mob had arrived seconds earlier, the attackers would have been in eyesight of the vice president as he was rushed across a reception hall into the office.

The proximity of the Jan. 6 mob to the vice president and the delay in evacuating him from the chamber — which have not been previously reported — raise questions about why the Secret Service did not move him earlier and underscore the jeopardy that top government leaders faced during the siege.

As an increasingly hostile and violent crowd surrounded the Capitol, Pence remained center stage, presiding over a joint session of Congress for more than an hour after the Capitol Police chief said he alerted his superiors that his force was being overrun and needed emergency reinforcements.

The potential exposure of the vice president underscores how law enforcement agencies struggled to manage the rapidly expanding crisis in real time.

The Secret Service declined to comment on any element of Pence’s movements in the Capitol or his evacuation, other than to say that he was “secure” during the siege.

“While the Secret Service does not speak specifically about the means and methods of our protective operations, Vice President Pence was secure at all times on Jan. 6,” Secret Service spokeswoman Catherine Milhoan said in a statement.

A spokesman for Pence declined to comment.

Pence was ultimately evacuated from his office off the Senate floor to a more secure location elsewhere in the Capitol complex. It is unclear exactly how long that took. But as the vice president made his way through the building, a growing number of rioters were joining their cohorts and coursing through the Capitol’s labyrinthine halls.

 

Once inside, they used pipes, flagpoles and other weapons to shatter windows and break furniture. One police officer later died of injuries sustained during the onslaught. Dozens of officers were wounded, including some who were struck with a fire extinguisher and another who was dragged down a set of steps and attacked by the crowd.

How battered D.C. police made a stand against the Capitol mob

Many of those in the mob had their sights on Pence — enraged that he had refused President Trump’s demand that he head off the electoral college count that formalized President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

According to the FBI, one man who was charged this week with trespassing and disorderly conduct after making his way into the Senate chamber said in a YouTube video: “Once we found out Pence turned on us and that they had stolen the election, like, officially, the crowd went crazy. I mean, it became a mob.”

At one point, a group of rioters began chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!” as they streamed into the main door on the east side of the Capitol.

One man who made his way into the Senate chamber reached Pence’s chair on the Senate dais. Shirtless, wearing face paint and a furry coyote-tail hat and carrying a six-foot-long spear, Jacob A. Chansley of Arizona left a note on the vice president’s desk that read in part, “it’s only a matter of time, justice is coming,” according to court filings.

Chansley — who has been charged with two felonies, including threatening congressional officials — told investigators he was glad to reach Pence’s desk because he believes the vice president is a child-trafficking traitor, but said he did not mean the note as a threat.

Rioters wanted to ‘capture and assassinate’ lawmakers, prosecutors say. A note left by the ‘QAnon Shaman’ is evidence.

Pence had just begun presiding over the joint session of Congress that afternoon when law enforcement officials realized that the crowd massing around the Capitol had grown dangerous. Rioters had pressed up against the barriers surrounding the building — with some using them as weapons against the police.

“I realized at 1 p.m., things aren’t going well,” outgoing Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund told The Washington Post in an interview Sunday. “I’m watching my people getting slammed.”

Sund said he immediately called acting D.C. police chief Robert J. Contee III, who rushed 100 officers to the scene.

Meanwhile, the joint session of Congress convened at 1 p.m. in the House chamber for an alphabetical roll call of each state’s electoral college results, quickly pausing when Trump’s allies protested Biden’s victory in Arizona, which sent Pence and senators across the Capitol to their chamber to debate challenges to that state’s electoral vote.

At 1:09 p.m., Sund said he told the top Capitol security officials, House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger, that he wanted an emergency declaration and to call in the National Guard.

At 1:50 p.m., the D.C. police on-scene commander declared a riot.

At 1:59 p.m., Sund said, he received the first report that rioters had reached the Capitol’s doors and windows and were attempting to break at least one window.

At about 2:11 p.m., video footage shows that the rioters successfully broke through a window with a piece of lumber. A minute later, a member of the mob entered through the window, the footage shows.

At 2:13 p.m., Pence suddenly left the Senate floor and was moved to the nearby office, according to C-SPAN footage and a Post reporter on the scene.

But the rioters were not far behind. They chased Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman up a flight of stairs, arriving on the landing at 2:14 p.m., video footage shows — seconds after the vice president had been whisked inside the office.

A Black officer faced down a mostly White mob at the Capitol. Meet Eugene Goodman.

Pence’s Secret Service detail stood guard at the door. Inside the office with the vice president were his wife, Karen Pence, his daughter, Charlotte Pence Bond, and his brother, Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.), who had gone to the Senate and was watching its debate over Arizona’s electoral vote with his sister-in-law and niece as the Capitol was being invaded.

A man climbs down after being photographed with a noose as Trump supporters call for legislators to overturn the election results in his favor. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Agents on the Secret Service’s protective details are drilled in training to focus on one strategy at the sign of danger: They must “cover and evacuate” their protected VIP. Yet, on the afternoon of Jan. 6, danger was already all around them and streaming through different parts of the building.

Twice the vice president’s agents told Pence that they recommended he and his immediate entourage evacuate the Capitol, according to two people briefed on the episode.

Pence declined the recommendation both times, saying he did not want to be driven out of his own office and the Capitol building by an unruly mob, the people said.

The third time, Secret Service didn’t give Pence a choice, the people said. Detail agents told Pence they were all going — that instant.

They left the office for a secure room in the Capitol complex. The evacuation route they took is unknown. A group of snipers on the counter-assault team that travels with Pence would have scoped out the path and ensured it was clear.

Pence and his detail did not encounter any rioters on their way through the overrun Capitol, according to the people familiar with the events. In addition to the vice president, the group that evacuated to the second location included Pence’s family, his chief of staff Marc Short, his press secretary Devin O’Malley and several other staffers.

The Post is not identifying the location in the Capitol complex where Pence was taken for security reasons.

Once shepherded to the secure location, Pence remained there throughout the entire siege, even as most key congressional leaders were evacuated to an off-site secure location, according to administration and congressional aides.

A pro-Trump mob breaches the Senate chamber after storming the Capitol. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)

It would take several hours before Capitol Police — aided by reinforcements of hundreds of D.C. police officers, FBI SWAT team members, Secret Service officers and National Guard soldiers — ejected the rioters from the grounds and secured the building.

As lawmakers debated where and how they should reconvene to continue the electoral vote count disrupted by the violent mob, Pence pushed to continue the session where it had begun — in the Capitol.

Once the Capitol Police gave the all-clear, Pence left his secure location and returned to the Senate chamber after 8 p.m.

Before Congress resumed its work, the vice president addressed the day’s violence in an unusual speech as president of the Senate.

“Today was a dark day in the history of the United States Capitol,” Pence said, adding: “We will always be grateful to the men and women who stayed at their posts to defend this historic place. To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today, you did not win. Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the People’s House.”

[osup116]

Washington Post opinion - Very doubtful he was in any danger 

[BarryLaverty]

11 minutes ago, osup116 said:

Washington Post opinion - Very doubtful he was in any danger 

It's not an opinion piece. Why do you doubt that he was in any danger from people who were calling him 'traitor' or calling for his execution??? You think they were there to have a 'dialogue'? 

[Youngcoach123]

“A Black officer faced down a mostly White mob at the Capitol.”

here’s a beauty from this trash piece 

[Youngcoach123]

12 minutes ago, Old49er60 said:

Have you seen the video where they chant hang pence?  

Video of some People chanting and then videos of other people storming the capitol does not equate to

”insurrectionist stormed the capital chanting “hang pence””

 

dishonest media. Again. And y’all are falling for it, again.

[osup116]

13 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said:

It's not an opinion piece. Why do you doubt that he was in any danger from people who were calling him 'traitor' or calling for his execution??? You think they were there to have a 'dialogue'? 

Do you know? No - It is an opinion piece not fact. 

Chanting and acting are different lines to be crossed. 

14 minutes ago, Old49er60 said:

Have you seen the video where they chant hang pence?  

 

[BoyzNdaHood]

A threat is a threat, whether it is carried out or not makes no difference.... lock em up

[osup116]

 

[osup116]

3 minutes ago, JETT said:

A threat is a threat, whether it is carried out or not makes no difference.... lock em up

Glad you feel that way - watch the video 

[osup116]

3 minutes ago, Old49er60 said:

https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-9-65000-protection-government-officials

I did not say it was against the law. I said I do not believe Pence was in Danger. 

[BoyzNdaHood]

2 minutes ago, osup116 said:

Glad you feel that way - watch the video 

Lock em up

[osup116]

Just now, JETT said:

Lock em up

Agreed - Both sides

[osup116]

Just now, BoHogg said:

How is this related to a thread about Pence being in danger to the rioters?

There is no difference in these protesters - BLM did not bring death to America but they are still chanting it 

[osup116]

1 minute ago, Old49er60 said:

It is not but there is a strong desire to deflect. 

not trying to deflect trying to get you to see there is no difference between BLM and the people in D.C. except one is chastised by Dem Party the other is bailed out by the Dem party 

[BoyzNdaHood]

2 minutes ago, BoHogg said:

How is this related to a thread about Pence being in danger to the rioters?

The goal is to get this topic locked

[osup116]

4 minutes ago, Old49er60 said:

So in your OPINION he was not. I wonder if the secret service agrees with your opinion? 

Their Job is to always take the safe route - I commend them for it. Washington Post however needs to stick with the facts. Which is Pence was close to the protesters

[osup116]

Just now, Old49er60 said:

And what have I said on the subject? If they commit a crime they should be held accountable

I agree with you - the protesting needs to stop 

[osup116]

1 minute ago, Old49er60 said:

Seems like you have a strong desire to minimize what happened. 

not minimizing just not going for gaslighting either. I am sure there was concern as should be, but the author is writing it as fact. He should be better than this 

[osup116]

3 minutes ago, Old49er60 said:

That is not what I said. Protests are protected, violence is not

So let me rephrase this - Violent protests need to stop. On both sides, because burning half of Portland is pretty bad 

[osup116]

1 minute ago, Old49er60 said:

Just going off the timeline, the secret service felt there was a legitimate concern. The crowd did chant hang pence, no idea if they knew that or not however from all I have seen I do believe he was in danger. Do you believe if he had just walked out to meet them everything would have been fine? 

I believe his protectors had them out gunned I am not talking about Capitol police I am talking about his protection unit. If there was an issue there would be a lot more dead people  

[Youngcoach123]

4 minutes ago, Old49er60 said:

Yes they had them outgunned, but you seem to think he was in no danger. If he was in no danger what would have happened had he just walked out to them? You want to avoid the fact that there were people who wanted to do bad things to him and members of congress. 

You get the answer you were looking for despite ignoring what he was trying to say about the article, yet you persist to a different topic. Quit badgering people because they don’t think the same way as you. Do you know for a fact what would have happened to Pence had they “walked him out”. Heck, I’m of no value to the protesters and I would have left the same as pence. Does that mean it wouldn’t have been safe for me? No it means nothing and you pestering about an unprovable scenario is dumb. 

[osup116]

Just now, Old49er60 said:

Yes they had them outgunned, but you seem to think he was in no danger. If he was in no danger what would have happened had he just walked out to them? You want to avoid the fact that there were people who wanted to do bad things to him and members of congress. 

We really don't know. His body guard would not let that happen as they should have. I am not going to say there was not a nut job in there. I willing to bet 99.9% are people just like you and me. House, Kids, Mortgage. They didn't come there to kill. They came to have their voices heard. There is a lot of evidence that is coming out that is showing that this may have been instigated.  

https://redstate.com/shipwreckedcrew/2021/01/14/well-known-antifa-rioter-arrested-and-charged-with-rioting-in-capitol-confesses-in-interview-with-fbi-n310082

 

Now I am not defending the people that went into the Capitol. They should have known better. I am saying there is more to the story CNN is reporting 

[Youngcoach123]

5 minutes ago, Old49er60 said:

So what you are saying is you have no idea if he was in real danger and OSU does not either, HOWEVER, what we see in the court motions show something else and they have the real evidence. 

Ahh the infamous courts you consistently talk about. No I’m saying no one knows. Especially the writer of the article. I do know any real danger would have resulted in gun shots fired. Pence security detail fired none. (For lack of info) Drawing a reasonable conclusion. Nice Dodge on the rest of my post. Thing got a hemi?

[Youngcoach123]

Just now, Old49er60 said:

Not sure where I dodged there is no question in it, just statements. And now you want to argue with what was presented in the court case. Typical

Right, keep moving that goal post bud

[Youngcoach123]

Just now, Old49er60 said:

again what did I move? 

The 5 Ds of dodgeball

Dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodge!!! You go get em champ