Gas masks and guns: Mikie Sherrill describes House scene as mob storms barricades

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.) addresses Team 26 reception in Morristown, April 26, 2019. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.), pictured in Morristown, April 26, 2019. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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As a Navy helicopter pilot, Mikie Sherrill was trained for stressful situations.

But she was surprised by how calmly her fellow members of Congress responded Wednesday when they were barricaded inside the House Chamber as a mob tried to break in.

“People were banging on the doors, the Capitol police were locking down the doors. Finally, they had barricaded some doors, they had their weapons out, weapons drawn,” Sherrill recounted to Morristown Green, from a secure location.

“We were told to get out our gas masks, and prepare to evacuate. But they could not provide a secure exit, so we sheltered in place. We all got down in case there was an active shooter,” she said.

Minutes passed before police were able to provide a secure pathway out. As  lawmakers were led to safety, Sherrill saw intruders “flat on the ground, face down with their hands over their heads, being guarded by police.”

Sherrill, a Democrat whose 11th District includes Morristown, called the storming of the Capitol an “obscene attack on our democracy.”

A woman was shot and killed, after rioters breached both chambers of Congress. At least 13 people were arrested. As darkness approached, a 6 pm curfew was declared for the District of Columbia and the National Guard was mobilized.

Cable networks showed flash grenades and tear gas on the stage where President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to be sworn into office in two weeks.

Congress had been in the process of certifying the election–a Constitutional duty Sherrill said traditionally takes about half an hour. But pro-Trump Republicans launched an unprecedented challenge of the outcome, initiating a Constitutionally prescribed two-hour debate.

“We will never concede,” President Trump told a “Save America” rally shortly before Congress convened.

House members only were a few minutes into their exercise in political theater when their phones started lighting up with reports about unrest on the Capitol grounds, and the evacuation of the Cannon building, where many members’ offices are located.

There was talk of a bomb being found, and of arrests of leaders of organizations, Sherrill said.

“Then, we got worse and worse news. We had reports that the Vice President had been evacuated off the floor of the Senate,” Sherrill said. “I was surprised at the lack of police presence in certain areas.”

House members attempted to press on with their debate, as mandated by the Constitution, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was evacuated.

“When I heard there were protesters in Statuary Hall, which is adjacent to the Chamber, I was very concerned we would not be able to continue our proceedings,” Sherrill said.

When the gas masks came out, some of her colleagues “were a little shaky.”

Yet there was no hysteria, said the sophomore congresswoman.

“I’ve been trained for situations like this. I’ve been on board a ship when someone’s dying and we have to evacuate them. I’ve been in quite a few stressful situations. But many of the people I work with haven’t…I was really impressed with the fact they were able to maintain their calm.”

As she waited for the restoration of order, to complete the certification of Biden’s election, Sherrill was less impressed by Republican colleagues whose support of President Trump’s baseless claims helped fuel Wednesday’s shocking scenes.

“I’m just deeply, deeply angry,” said Sherrill, a former federal prosecutor.

Except for the Civil War, government power has been transferred peacefully in the United States since 1789. Numerous recounts and dozens of lawsuits have not borne out Trump’s charges of election fraud.

But “we have members of Congress irresponsibly bringing false claims to the floor of the House of Representatives, simply for their own personal objectives and power,” Sherrill said, “not in the interests of the United States of America.”

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