‘It was a horrific feeling’: Patty Murray describes being ‘inches away’ from Capitol rioters Jan. 6

WASHINGTON – In an emotional interview with the PBS NewsHour on Friday, Sen. Patty Murray described being “inches away” from rioters pounding on her door during the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol.

It was the first time the Washington lawmaker, the Senate’s third-ranking Democrat, had spoken publicly about her experience on the day that’s at the center of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, who was impeached Jan. 13 by the House of Representatives on a single charge of “incitement of insurrection.”

Murray told anchor Judy Woodruff she and her husband, Rob, got to the Capitol early that day so she could prepare a speech in an office near the Senate chamber. When the mob broke into the building, Murray said, her husband told her to get on the floor while he braced his legs against the door as rioters pounded on the other side.

“I was inches away, along with my husband,” Murray said. “The terror I saw in his eyes was something I have not seen, and we have been married for almost 49 years.”

Murray said she was in that room for “well over an hour” until they had a chance to escape.

The interview aired Friday evening, the eve of a vote in which GOP senators are widely expected to acquit Trump, though the trial’s outcome is not yet certain. At least 17 Republicans would need to vote with all 50 Democrats to reach the two-thirds majority needed to convict the former president after his months-long campaign to convince supporters the 2020 election was stolen from him.

The nine House impeachment managers who act as the prosecution in the Senate’s quasi-courtroom spent Wednesday and Thursday arguing Trump’s effort to sow doubt in the election results culminated in his supporters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 while Congress certified the Electoral College results that formalized President Joe Biden’s victory.

Murray said she heard rioters outside the door talking on what sounded like two-way radios. They were trying to find the chamber where senators were debating a challenge to the election results by Republicans who heeded Trump’s demands for them to block the certification of Biden’s win. She recalled members of the mob shouting that they had “breached the castle” and would “kill the infidels.”

“They didn’t know it was me,” Murray said. “It could have been any member of Congress. I don’t think it mattered whether we were Republican or Democrat, woman or man. They were there to ‘kill the infidels,’ as they were saying.”

“I was not safe,” she said at another point. “It was a horrific feeling, and it lasted for a long time.”

Murray urged Senate Republicans to convict Trump not only to punish his past actions but to prevent similar acts of violence, echoing the closing arguments made by the House impeachment managers. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., told reporters Friday he expected the final vote to take place Saturday afternoon.

“I use my vote to fight for what I believe in,” Murray said. “The people of this country had used their votes to say what they believed in. That’s how our democracy works, and to allow this kind of brute force to be what makes our country work … cannot ever be allowed.”

Murray said she supports an inquiry into the actions of Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri.

“I view (that) anyone who knew this crowd’s motive and incited them and did not condemn them should be held accountable,” Murray said, “and I felt the actions of Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, in particular, did that.”

Murray told Woodruff she hesitated to go public about her experience during the insurrection because she did not want to show fear. But she changed her mind after listening to the House impeachment managers’ case on Thursday. Ultimately, she said, she decided fear is “overcome by speaking out.”

“I don’t want those people to ever feel that they had instilled fear in me that kept me from doing what I needed to do,” Murray said. “And today when I see some members of Congress wanting to dismiss this or wanting to say ‘put it in the past’ or ‘move on,’ they’re being instilled by fear and that’s what’s motivating them.”