Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz has a new book out where he talks about Jan. 6 and the aftermath. In one portion of the book, he speaks about his experiences on that day as a pro-Trump mob rioted at the U.S. Capitol, Newsweek reports.
“Toward the end of our two-hour session, as Senator James Lankford from Oklahoma was speaking, there was a commotion from outside the [Senate] chamber,” Cruz writes in Justice Corrupted: How the Left Weaponized Our Legal System.
“Suddenly, Capitol Police officers rushed in and hastily escorted the vice president off the dais. Shortly thereafter, we paused the proceedings,” he writes. “In the fog of the confusion, it was difficult to tell what exactly was happening. We were informed that a riot had broken out and that rioters were attempting to violently breach the Capitol building.”
“At first, Capitol Police instructed us to remain on the Senate floor. And so we did. Then, a few minutes later, they instructed us to evacuate rapidly.”
According to Cruz, lawmakers were led to a “secure location” where “tempers were high” with several Senators “blaming us explicitly for the violence that was occurring.”
“While we waited for the Capitol to be secured, I assembled our coalition in a back room (really, a supply closet with stacked chairs) to discuss what we should do next.”
“Several members of the group argued that in the face of the riot, we should suspend our objections and vote to certify the election. I understood the sentiment. But I vehemently disagreed with it. I urged my colleagues that the course of action we were advocating was the right and principled one,” he states in his book.
