Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) recently testified on Monday regarding his experience during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack as a witness in the Colorado trial aiming to determine whether former President Trump is eligible to be on the state’s 2024 ballot under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection” clause via The Hill.
It is noted that Swalwell testified that on the morning of Jan. 6, he took his usual run from his Washington residency to the U.S. Capitol and back. On the run, he recalled seeing dozens of individuals carrying “Stop the Steal” signs and wearing military gear. He said he pulled his cap over his face to avoid being recognized by the crowd as an “unsettling feeling about the direction the day was heading” set in.
As the day wore on, Swalwell stated that he and other Capitol employees began receiving internal emails warning of the gathering mob and of pipe bombs found near the grounds. Shortly after, Pelosi and other House leaders were rushed out of the room, and members were told to grab the gas masks from under their seats and be ready to evacuate.
“Until that moment, I didn’t know there were gas masks under our seats,” Swalwell testified.
Swalwell went on to sit with Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who had begun helping lawmakers — women first — put on their gas masks, telling them to breathe slowly. Choking back tears, Swalwell testified that Gallego handed him a pen and suggested he use it as a weapon. Then, a congressional chaplain began to pray at the podium unprompted, he said.
Martha Tierney, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, asked Swalwell whether he was monitoring Trump’s tweets as the day evolved. He said he was.
“We connected the president’s tweets to our own safety in the chamber and also the integrity of the proceedings taking place,” Swalwell said.
During cross-examination, Trump’s attorney turned Swalwell’s own tweets against him, suggesting his fiery language was not intended to actually inspire violence — and neither was Trump’s.
