Inside the Jan. 6 Capitol riot: Part 1 of 2

0:00A warning, this podcast includes explicit language, depictions of violence, and references to suicide..

0:09Let's fucking go! Inside now! Inside, you people! It's around 2.30 p.m. on January 6th, 2021. Dozens of police officers are surrounded by a violent mob, thousands more behind them. Fall back! They need to retreat inside, now. They need to fall back! Some are bleeding from the fighting outside. A few collapse just trying to climb a flight of stairs. Go, go! Go, go! I got you! Capital, lock these doors! Let's go! They get inside, behind a couple glass doors in a police line. Alarms are blaring. But they have a moment to breathe. Some cops are on the floor of a hallway. One holds up his bloody finger.

0:53I want to get it wrapped up. I need fucking help. Several have this dazed look, a thousand-yard stare. Others can barely keep their eyes open. I can't breathe! I can't! This cop has been hit with pepper spray, or maybe bear spray, which is even worse. Other officers pour bottles of water over his eyes, trying to calm him down.

1:17Many of them will later say they are worried they're about to be killed. But they do not have time to rest. The mob has assembled just outside those two glass doors, and they're pounding them. One officer says if they've reached those doors, it's all over. They've reached those doors. Let's go, homie! All right, let's go, NPD! Nice things out. We are not losing the U.S. Capitol today. You hear me? We are not losing the U.S. Capitol. Body cams are rolling. Rioters keep hitting the doors. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. What's happening will be evidence later.

1:55He's got a weapon in his hand, okay? But now, glass shatters. Shield! Shields up front! No more! The mob has breached the doors. Hold the line! Hold the line! Do not hold the line! Consider this. What really unfolded five years ago on January 6th? And how has the Trump administration tried to erase the evidence from that day and rewrite the history of what happened?

2:30From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow.

2:42It's Consider This from NPR. For five years, correspondent Tom Dreisbach and NPR's investigations team tracked every single case, reviewed thousands of videos submitted in court, talked to police officers, investigators, members of Congress, and even rioters. Here's their story. You might think you already know what happened on January 6th, 2021. The riot of Trump supporters took place on live TV. Then there was Trump's impeachment, hearings in Congress. But if that was all you saw, you only caught the beginning of the story, a small snapshot that did not show just how extreme and vicious the violence was.

3:20In the end, prosecutors brought charges against more than 1 ,500 people. It took years for evidence to come out. And so right now, we actually know so much more about that day than ever before. And at exactly the same time, the Trump administration is actively trying to rewrite that history. So this is January 6th. These are the hostages. Approximately 1 ,500 for a pardon. Full pardon. Trump pardoned nearly every single rioter, even the ones who beat cops. He said they were the real victims. I pardoned J6 people who were assaulted by our government. That's who assaulted Ed. His administration purged the government of prosecutors who worked on January 6th.

4:07Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department fired at least three federal prosecutors who worked on cases against January 6th riot. They even began to disappear public information about that day. NPR and other media organizations had to go to court to make sure video evidence was preserved. And we are still fighting for all of it. And on today's show, we will tell you how the evidence we've gathered and preserved contradicts everything Trump now says about the riot. We'll tell you just how brutal it was. The violence was so severe, it ended police officers' careers, left them with lifelong injuries.

4:41Two took their own lives in the days after. Their deaths were classified as in the line of duty. We'll explain why the police were so overwhelmed. Why did they make so few arrests? And was the riot spontaneous or was it a planned attack? Everything you'll hear today will come from evidence presented in court or interviews with people who were there. A rioter who ended up chugging wine inside a Capitol office, a congressman who unknowingly witnessed the beginning of a seditious conspiracy, and a cop on what was going through his mind as rioters said they backed the blue and knocked him unconscious.

5:16Then, in our next episode, we'll take you inside the FBI interrogation rooms as prosecutors tried to create a definitive history and a new administration sought to erase it.

5:33To understand how we got to January 6th, you have to remember how things felt the whole year before. Because it was a year overwhelmed by illness, isolation, anger, and violence. Where the stakes of everyday decisions could be life or death. The outbreak spreading across the U.S. First, there was COVID. More than 1 ,300 new cases in just the last 24 hours. This mysterious new illness was killing people all around the country. Millions lost their jobs or were locked down at home. Nearly 3.3 million filing unemployment claims in one week. That isolation sent a lot of people deeper into rabbit holes like QAnon.

6:12Then... In the shocking case of an unarmed African-American man who died after being... Police murdered George Floyd, leading to some of the largest protests in American history. Still, thousands of people have been marching to show solidarity with the demonstrations in the United States. Some cities saw riots and looting. Far-right extremist groups mobilized. And at one point, Trump was asked if he would condemn one of those groups, the violent street gang known as the Proud Boys. Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. After Trump said that, the Proud Boys suddenly had thousands of people asking them to join.

6:48And now they said they were standing by for Trump's orders. By now, you've probably remembered one other thing that happened that year, which I have not mentioned. The presidential election. The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election. Later, on election night 2020, before millions of votes were even counted. Frankly, we did win this election. Trump claimed victory. In reality, he had lost. And a few days later, Joe Biden was declared president-elect, backed by the courts and election officials across the country. Trump refused to concede. If we don't root out the fraud, the tremendous and horrible fraud that's taken place in our 2020 election, we don't have a country anymore.

7:38Several members of the Trump team admitted privately that the election was not stolen. But others wanted to fight, even talked about violence. When the government's head of cybersecurity said the election was safe and secure, one of Trump's lawyers, a man named Joe DiGenova, said he should be killed. That guy is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered, taken out at dawn and shot. DiGenova later claimed he was joking. In court, the Trump team lost dozens of cases, but they had one last plan for the day Congress was supposed to certify the election. Trump posted on Twitter about January 6th.

8:17That he expects there to be a massive protest here in Washington on that date saying, be there, we'll be wild. Pro-Trump activists mobilized. Do whatever you have to do to get to Washington, D.C. on January 6th. January 6th! Trump needs you. And after a year of death and disruption from COVID, violence in the streets and conspiracies in the air, A lot of people packed up body armor and weapons. All right, guys, get my loadout bag. I got the carbon fiber knuckles, matching hatchets, and a little bit of excitement.

9:04There was not just one single motivation behind why people came to D.C. for January 6th. Organized extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys said it was time to use force to keep Trump in power. They said it was like a second American revolution. Other extremists came too, followers of QAnon, white nationalists. And then there were the people who just loved Trump. When Trump asked people to come down January 6th to protest, we didn't even talk about it. We knew we were going. Jason Riddle had been a Trump supporter for years, ever since the first Trump campaign. And his path to D.C.

9:42on January 6th was like a lot of other Trump fans. And Riddle's story shows how that love of Trump went way beyond politics. It was much deeper than that. It was about who they were. It became my identity. I wore Trump wigs and costumes, sometimes for no reason. I'd put the crap on and go bar hopping. And it got me attention. He especially loved the rallies. Says he's probably been to 15. It's a pep rally combined with a circus once Trump gets there. There was always the I love you too. If you get a moment of silence and you yell out I love you at him, he will yell I love you too back. I remember being so excited.

10:18There was that one moment when I love you and I love you too. And then he goes back to his speech. He's a showman. He knows and he gives it back. He gives that obsession back. And Riddle says there was another side of the rallies he loved, the drama. There was always the protesters mad at you and there was always this passion. And it was fun. Being a Trump supporter is all about the reaction from everyone else. So that's the best part. But Riddle's personal life was a mess. He had a career in the Navy and Army Reserves that fell apart, had trouble keeping jobs. He was drinking too much. By the end of 2020, he was living in New Hampshire.

10:58He'd been working for the Postal Service, delivering mail. He'd spend every day on the phone talking about Trump and politics with a friend. I lasted a year at the post office and drunkenly quit. I was drinking while working. I was drinking in the morning. I just abandoned the truck full of mail. That was the end of December 2020. He was jobless and drunk. But supporting Trump still gave him a sense of purpose and something to look forward to, the next Trump rally on January 6th. So he hit the road to D.C. Every gas station wore red hats because there's people from all over the country going. And I remember one gas station, the guy saw my hat and he's like, you're going?

11:34Yeah, he's like, it's going to be crazy. I mean, it was just like he looked aggressive and was just like, all right.

11:43I mean, it was a beautiful day. I'd gotten there the night before, so I was up early and I decided to take a walk. And I was kind of enjoying the spectacle. Peter Welch is about the least aggressive looking person you can find. He's in his 70s, from New England, wears glasses. and early in the morning on January 6th, after getting to D.C., he just started talking to people while walking around. This was before all the speeches. There were lots of signs, some chanting. But at first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I had conversations with people. How's it going? What do you think? And, you know, they thought the election was stolen.

12:20But I didn't get a sense of hostility. And on some occasions, they'd ask me who I was and I would tell them. You see, Welch was not a Trump supporter. He was a member of Congress, representing Vermont. a Democrat. And what would they say? Well, they'd be interested in it, but, you know, they had identified who their adversaries were. And it was Mike Pence, obviously, and it was Nancy Pelosi. She, to them, personified the evil empire. Welch says he was not remotely worried about safety at the Capitol that day. He'd been in Congress for more than a decade. He was used to protests, and he thought of the Capitol as safer than Fort Knox.

12:55And he says the electoral certification is a really special experience. There's not much to do but just witness history. He just did not know what kind of history was being written that day. As he made a loop around the mall and headed back towards the Capitol, he noticed this big group of people, led by a guy dressed in black with a bullhorn. There were people who were marching in formation. It was organized and disciplined. Our streets! Our streets! So that made me anxious a little bit. What Welch did not realize was that this group was the Proud Boys. They were intentionally not wearing their typical black and yellow outfits.

13:40And after Trump announced the protest, they started secretly planning for this day. Their leader even shared a document that involved occupying government buildings. And now they were starting to execute their plans in plain sight.

14:02At the time, Welch did not know any of that. He went on to work at the Capitol, a little anxious, but still pretty sure that the day would go smoothly. And so he did not hear how the Proud Boys' conspiracy to stop the certification of the election was unfolding on the National Mall. Let's take the fucking Capitol, one of them yelled. Take the fucking Capitol. Come on, tighten up. Let's not fucking yell that, all right? Someone with the group said quietly, don't yell it. Don't yell it. Do it. Do it.

14:35Unit 7, do you have cameras on, I guess, the group, the Proud Boys, coming up from the small area towards the Capitol? The Capitol Police saw the group of Proud Boys marching before Trump had even started speaking. But like Welch, the police did not know what the Proud Boys had in mind. Neither did Daniel Hodges. He was with the D.C. Police Department, the Civil Disturbance Unit. His whole job is to respond to big protests, and he'd been out on the streets since 7 that morning. I was personally standing out in front of the IRS building. And yeah, I thought the worst part of that day for me was going to be all the taxationist theft jokes.

15:13His bosses in the police department had not really prepared him for serious violence. But Hodges started to see signs that something more might be coming. People dressed for the coal and dressed for the rally, but you'd also get people wearing helmets, earpieces, goggles, backpacks full of who knows what. Look like they're ready for something other than a rally. Media will not show the magnitude of this crowd. Trump started his speech near the White House at about noon. He told the crowd that the stakes could not be higher. Depending on what happened inside the Capitol that day, they would either save democracy or the country would be destroyed.

15:53And it all came down to the vice president, Mike Pence. And I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. I hope so. I hope so. Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election. Before Trump started speaking, White House staff told him that people in the crowd had weapons. That's according to testimony to Congress. Trump still told the crowd they should march to the Capitol. He said he would join them. down to the Capitol. And we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. And we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. And a moment later, Trump added this.

16:37I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard. Around this time, Jason Riddle got an Uber from his hotel to the Washington Monument. And when he got out, he couldn't even see Trump. There were too many people. But the sound of Trump's voice was echoing all across the mall. The feeling was very spiritual. It was something I'll never feel again. I mean, it was the biggest amount of Trump supporters you ever saw in your life. And then also, I think there's also this, all that frustration from the COVID lockdowns.

17:15It was the first time getting that many people together probably since COVID. He felt like this was something bigger than himself. Before Trump even finished his speech, people started heading toward the Capitol building. We're all marching on the Capitol. Trump said he was joining us too. We got patriots as far as I can see. Riddle decided to follow those crowds.

17:45When I first started covering January 6th, five years ago, one of the biggest mysteries involved the Capitol Police. Ever since 9-11, the government has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on security. So how could security at the Capitol have been so overwhelmed? Part of the answer to that involves the most consequential 25 minutes of the whole day, when it seemed like everything was happening all at once. And a lot of it happened at a place called, of all things, Peace Circle. We love Trump! We love Trump! While Trump was still giving his speech and Trump supporters like Riddle were walking, that big group of Proud Boys had marched around the Capitol building.

18:25They scoped out different entrances. And they ended up by Peace Circle. It's a monument to sailors who died in the Civil War. The Proud Boys bullhorn attracted a bigger and bigger crowd. Who's out? Who's out? Just a few Capitol Police officers were there, standing behind temporary fencing, these metal bike racks. Behind them was a straight path right to the Capitol building. USA! USA! USA! People got angrier and angrier, yelling at the cops. And then a few people went from words to action. They started to lift the fencing up, pushed it back, and knocked the cops over. Fuck them! stormed the Capitol, one proud boy yelled.

19:10Rioters started throwing punches. We have a breach on the west front, 1st Street. Breach. Multiple units. Send all you have. The protest had just turned violent. The police were in full retreat.

19:32The collapse of the outer perimeter was shocking for how rapid and violent it was. At the time, it seemed unclear why the Capitol Police were so overwhelmed. But we later got more pieces of the puzzle. Right at the time of the fight at Peace Circle and the breach of Capitol grounds, the police were scrambling to deal with multiple serious incidents all at once. First, cops found a pipe bomb by the headquarters of the Republican National Committee. Then they found a Trump supporter's truck loaded up with guns and 11 mason jars filled with gasoline, Molotov cocktails. And then they found another pipe bomb, this time by the Democratic National Committee.

20:09We need to make sure that officers are posted. So Capitol Police were trying to manage multiple crises all at the same time. And then, while all of this was happening... Madam Speaker, members of Congress, pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of the United States... Inside the Capitol, within minutes of all these events, Vice President Pence was starting the certification process. and he announced in a letter that he would not follow Trump's plan. He would not overturn the election results. Pence's announcement came out just before Trump was ending his speech. And we fight. We fight like hell.

20:45And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. As people in the crowd heard about Pence's announcement, they were outraged. And now Trump was sending them to the Capitol. So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. you. I want to thank you all. God bless you and God bless America. Thank you all for being here. Trump's speech is over. It was awesome. Some of you may have seen it online. It went over all the voter fraud. The big group that had breached through Peace Circle and was fighting with police, they were about to get a lot more backup from people who were furious about Pence's announcement.

21:22Anyways, we're walking over to the Capitol right now and I don't know, maybe we'll break down the doors.

21:35Jason Riddle got to the Capitol along with the rest of the angry crowds. And I kept thinking about war movies. Like what movies? I thought of Saving Private Ryan. There was this guy up in the scaffolding with a megaphone and he was going, don't stop. Keep moving forward. Don't stop! Push forward! Push forward! He looked at the windows and the people inside. I remember standing back and seeing the politicians looking down, taking pictures with their phones and thinking, good. And I was happy about it. You were happy about them seeing, like... Being afraid of people. Here's a common man. Here we are.

22:21Daniel Hodges, the D.C. police officer, was called to respond to the chaos and try to help the Capitol Police, who were stretched to a breaking point. Early in the day, protesters were telling him, thank you for your service. Not anymore. What he saw was the crowd embracing violence. They said it was the right thing to do. What's going on here, boys? Trade us! His body cam shows people calling him and the other officers traitors, stormtroopers, Nazis. While just trying to walk through the crowds, he was punched and kicked and knocked to the ground. People tried to steal his baton.