How barricaded lawmakers and aides sounded urgent pleas for help as police lost control

WASHINGTON - The growing crowds outside the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon sounded menacing but at bay as senators began to debate challenges to the electoral college vote. A top adviser to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stepped out of the ornate chamber for a short break.

Alone in the Capitol's marble halls, just outside the chamber's bronze doors, it was suddenly apparent that the citadel of U.S. democracy was falling to the mob incited by President Donald Trump.

A cacophony of screaming, shouting and banging echoed from the floor below. McConnell's security detail rushed past and into the chamber. The adviser began walking toward the Rotunda and came face to face with a U.S. Capitol Police officer sprinting in the opposite direction. The two made eye contact and the officer forced out a single word: "Run!"

https://www.startribune.com/how-barricaded-lawmakers-and-aides-sounded-urgent-pleas-for-help-as-police-lost-control/600009037/