When Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.) was flying helicopter missions for the Navy, she was trained to remain aware of her surroundings.
The sight of someone loitering around her helicopter, for instance, would trigger suspicion.
That was Sherrill’s reaction when she saw groups touring the U.S. Capitol on Jan 5, 2021 — a day ahead of the attack by a pro-Trump mob that ended with five people dead.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th District) on The Rachel Maddow Show, Jan. 13, 2021:
“I was really shocked when I got into the House office building and saw these groups inside,” Sherrill told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, after the congresswoman led more than 30 Democratic lawmakers this week in demanding an investigation into whether GOP colleagues enabled “reconnaissance” by insurrectionists.
Sherrill had been so concerned about President Trump summoning extremists to Washington to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s election that she told staffers to work from home for their safety.
“It was reiterated on Jan.3, in the new Congress, there would be no tours allowed, even tours given by Members… so to see these groups around the Capitol complex was really striking,” said the second-term Representative.
If her colleagues are proven to have aided and abetted the rioters, Sherrill said, “there is simply no way that they can continue to be allowed to serve in Congress.”
