Police captain offers grisly new details of Capitol riot at first official hearing on insurrection - The Independent

A captain in the US Capitol Police force who responded to the 6 January Capitol riot offered a harrowing first-hand account on Tuesday of her experience battling white supremacists and other pro-Trump elements.

The USCP captain, a veteran of the US Army, repeatedly referred to the riot as a “battle.”.

The four panelists testifying before the Senate Rules and Homeland Security Committees were Metropolitan Police Acting Chief Robert Contee, former House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, former Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger, and former US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund.

Ms Mendoza decided she would assist at the DNC bomb scene since that was the closest one to her current location, but when she overheard officers on the radio calling for “immediate” assistance at the Capitol, she hurried past the DNC to the legislature.

The rioters eventually overpowered Ms Mendoza’s line, sending officers scattering to other parts of the building to hold off further intrusions.

The Rotunda was a full-on battle between rioters and police officers.

As captain, Ms Mendoza “assumed command” of the officers on the scene and called for backup.

But with rabid rioters still banging on the door from the outside and pushing to get in, officers had to brace themselves against it for several minutes longer.

Eventually officers were able to secure the door with furniture and other objects,” Ms Mendoza said.

I'm sad to see the impact this has had on Capitol Police officers.