D.C. ‘Riot’–Pasco Man’s Account Contradicts Media Versions
We've been sharing information this week about the Capitol march 'riot' that occurred Wednesday, with photos and information from a Pasco man who was there.
Paul A, as we have been calling him, was in the vicinity, within a hundred feet of the exact 'landing area' as they call it, where the intrusion took place. It was well within view, although he was down below on the grounds right in front.
By his own accounts, he and his party were there from about 12:45 to shortly after 3PM, which is when the fatal shooting of that Arizona woman was reported. The intrusion into the Capitol building began some moments before that.
According to him:
"The hustle bustle and struggle was kind of not as vigorous as they tried to make it look." He did acknowledge his angle from below was lower, but it did not look like a 'riot.'
"That landing is quite large so my angle at the base we were unaware of how filled it was. But I insist on from my point of view the people that were around that door action it was like a party..."
He said it appeared a few people were climbing some scaffolding or the wall, and some were scrambling up the stairs but it appeared to be more of an 'attention getting' stunt as opposed to a riot.
He also make this observation about law enforcement at the scene:
"One of the main points is that the police just kind of left that whole area they were along the sides like where the barricade was."
This appears to be in reference to some claims that the numbers of law enforcement officers in some areas was noticeably smaller than you would expect during a massive event like this.
He went on to say he and his group were surprised (probably shocked) when they heard about the fatal shooting and the images from inside. There's also a video circulating in online media sources showing some police and protesters pushing back and forth using one of the barricades. But it is not a huge group of hundreds of persons.
He said during the entire time they were there, no one ever felt threatened, and the mood was "happy go lucky" and easy going, despite the hundreds of thousands of marchers there. The news of the break in and shooting came as a shock to his group, as it did others who were there as they were leaving later.