The last thing Colin Allred remembers seeing as he was evacuated from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives was Capitol police drawing their guns, he told the Dallas Morning News.
The U.S. representative was in a joint session of Congress to count Electoral College votes that awarded the presidency to Joe Biden when armed rioters stormed the Capitol.
Rioters pounded on the chamber’s doors. As the glass started to crack, Allred and other elected officials were given gas masks and taken to an undisclosed secure location. Allred saw a House parliamentarian carrying historic paraphernalia out of the room to make sure it didn’t get destroyed, according to the Morning News.
“It was far worse than any picture can relay,” he told the newspaper. “Far, far worse and far, far more dangerous. This was very close to being extreme violence.
“I can’t really stress enough how inviolable the House floor is supposed to be. It’s a place of debate. It’s a place of democracy. It’s a place where, yes, we have disagreements. It’s not a place of violence.”
The second-term Democrat, who also played in the NFL, told the Morning News that he texted his wife, “Whatever happens, I love you.” His wife, Aly, was at home in East Dallas with their nearly 2-year old son. She turned on cartoons to keep him calm.
Read Allred’s full account here. Here’s what our other representatives said.
