U.S. lawmakers recounted Wednesday frantic scenes of evacuations and being ordered to grab gas masks as pro-Trump extremists stormed the Capitol.The mob forced the Senate into a recess while it was in the process of certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.“I was one of a dozen Representatives in the gallery above the House floor. We pulled out gas masks and had to get down on the ground,” Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat, wrote on Twitter.“Capitol police barricaded the doors and had guns drawn,” she recounted. “We were eventually told that we had to quickly exit.”I am safe and sheltering in place.I was one of a dozen Representatives in the gallery above the House floor. We pulled out gas masks and had to get down on the ground. Capitol police barricaded the doors and had guns drawn. We were eventually told that we had to quickly exit.— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) January 6, 2021“We have been instructed to lie down on the floor and put on our gas masks,” tweeted Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat. “Chamber security and Capitol Police have their guns drawn as protesters bang on the front door of the chamber.”I am in the House Chambers. We have been instructed to lie down on the floor and put on our gas masks. Chamber security and Capitol Police have their guns drawn as protesters bang on the front door of the chamber. This is not a protest. This is an attack on America.— Rep. Dan Kildee (@RepDanKildee) January 6, 2021Tear gas was deployed in the Rotunda to deter Trump supporters who breached the Capitol security lines.Speaking to VOA’s Russian Service, Republican Congressman Greg Murphy of North Carolina said that many of his colleagues were concerned for their safety.“A lot of folks were concerned. A lot of folks were worried,” he said. “But we were evacuated in a safe and orderly manner.”As a full lockdown was in effect across Capitol Hill on Wednesday afternoon, many lawmakers took to social media to assure their constituents and followers that they were safe.I’m in the Capitol. I’m safe, and my team and I are sheltering in place.The President of the United States has incited a riot that has now stormed the Capitol. There are rioters roaming the halls of the Capitol. I saw them with my own eyes.Our country deserves better.— Congresswoman Cori Bush (@RepCori) January 6, 2021I am safe, but heartbroken about what we are enduring at our nation’s Capitol. Running for our lives as Members of Congress in the United States is really devastating and totally shocking. https://t.co/7pAeikE9TQ— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 6, 2021Security officials lifted the lockdown on Capitol Hill on Wednesday evening, with dozens of Trump supporters still outside the Capitol despite a 6 p.m. curfew in Washington.Police were overheard telling lingering Trump supporters and onlookers that they should leave the area voluntarily or risk arrest for violating the curfew.One woman who was shot during the riot inside the Capitol has died, according to media reports. Her identity has not been made public.
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