Rep. Madeleine Dean Gets Emotional Recounting 'Insurrectionist Mob' Using American Flag 'To Batter And Bludgeon' During Trump Impeachment Trial
WASHINGTON (CBS/CNN) -- Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democratic congresswoman from Pennsylvania and one of nine House impeachment managers in former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, got emotional Wednesday while laying out the timeline of last month's deadly U.S. Capitol attack. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for "incitement of insurrection" for his actions leading up to the Capitol riot.
During the trial Wednesday, Dean laid out the timeline when rioters marched from a pro-Trump "Stop the Steal" rally to the U.S. Capitol.
While detailing the "insurrectionist mob" overwhelming Capitol security, Dean's voice cracked and she started to tear up.
"At 1:45, the president's followers surged past Capitol Police shouting, 'This is a revolution.' Just after 2:10, an hour after President Trump ended his speech, the insurrectionist mob overwhelmed Capitol security and made it inside the halls of Congress," Dean said. "Because the truth is, this attack never would have happened, but for Donald Trump. And so they came, draped in Trump's flag and used our flag, the American flag, to batter and to bludgeon."
Dean then choked up when describing how lawmakers were being targeted.
"And at 2:30, I heard that terrifying banging on House chamber doors. For the first time in more than 200 years, the seat of our government was ransacked on our watch," said the Pennsylvania congresswoman who represents Montgomery and Berks Counties.
House impeachment managers aired new Capitol security footage showing how the rioters violently breached the Capitol and the threat they posed to everyone in the building during the riots on Jan. 6 as the managers argued that Trump was responsible for inciting the rioters.
The footage included Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman running through the Capitol hallways to respond to the rioters, running into Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah to tell him to turn around to safety.
The managers kicked off their two-day presentation walking through Trump's months of false statements about election fraud and his refusal to concede, arguing that his speeches were designed to anger and incite his supporters, so they were ready to fight when they marched to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
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