The Connecticut delegation of federal lawmakers representing Newtown along with a number of other federal and state officials lined up following the January 6 siege on the US Capitol building. Chaos and destruction briefly ruled on Capitol Hill as a mob of outgoing President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol building and unleashed chaos as it tried to halt the peaceful transition of power.

Members of Congress were forced into hiding, offices were ransacked, and the formal congressional tally halted for more than six hours.

Connecticut’s 4th District US Congressman Jim Himes and Democratic colleague and newly elected Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro were inside the legislative chamber as lawmakers debated in a joint session of Congress whether to accept the presidential electors from Arizona, an element of Joe Biden’s victory over Donald J. Trump.

Himes offered this account to CTMirror: “You could hear banging on doors. You could hear shouting outside. And at that point, they led more officers into the gallery, to the galleries and balcony overlooking the floor. They spread us out. And they evacuated the floor pretty quickly. They took the speaker and [US Rep and House Majority Leader] Steny [Hoyer, D-Md.] off, and then the lieutenant came and said, ‘Get ready to crouch down behind your seats.’ It got a little tense.”

Himes said lawmakers were directed to employ gas masks that are supplied and fastened under chamber seats.

Himes told CTMirror he watched the police — some with sidearms drawn — try to secure the doors. He was dumbfounded to watch them struggle to move heavy furniture as a barricade. He was in what is largely assumed to be one of the most secure buildings in the United States. He could hear mob sounds in the foyer.

“They were at the door to the chamber. They broke the glass,” Himes said. The officers pointed their weapons at the door. Then came the word: Evacuate.

Himes was in a group escorted out the exit usually used by the first lady after the State of the Union.

Congressman Himes gave this account to CTMirror Wednesday night from a secure room in a place he could not disclose. He had water and was able to brush his teeth to get the taste of tear gas out of his mouth.

Himes, who is alternately praised and criticized for trying to work across the aisle, said he is trying to absorb what has happened and how so many House Republicans joined Trump in publicly suggesting that Biden’s election somehow could be undone Wednesday during a joint session of Congress.

“You know, mobs are nothing new. Mobs don’t surprise me,” Himes said. “But when a good chunk of a political party decides to aid and abet a mob in the service of chaos, and attacking our democracy, that makes me really sad. I mean, it’s just an awful moment.”

Response To Chaos

What was supposed to be a largely ceremonial activity of Congress counting electoral votes erupted into chaos that has so far cost one woman her life, according to multiple reports. And while a lot of the details played out and were recounted in countless media reports across the nation and the globe January 6, the eventual outcome saw lawmakers return to the “Peoples’ House” to affirm Joseph R. Biden, Jr, as the next US president.

Commentary from numerous officials began within hours of the first signs of unrest.

Just before 5 pm, US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released a statement assuring constituents, “My staff and I are safe at a secure location. I am absolutely sickened by scenes of anarchist mobs violently swarming the Capitol. It’s not a protest — it’s armed insurrection. This is an assault on the heart of our democracy incited and fueled by the President of the United States and his enablers. Make no mistake: Congress will do its job.”

Upon his return to the Senate floor to finish his role in affirming the incoming president, Blumenthal added, “The fantasies and falsehoods that drove those rioters — not protesters — the mob who assaulted the temple of democracy, were fueled by the president’s misstatements and lies and contempt for the truth. And he was enabled. He had enablers. So today we are stopping in one instance that enabling. But we must also make sure to stop it going forward.”

US Congresswoman and former national Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes, whose 5th District includes Newtown, said in a release, “In my nearly 15 years of teaching American history, I could have never found the words to explain this act of sedition to my students. The damage that this President and these rioters have done to our democracy is incomprehensible. The work of repairing the chasms in our electorate and faith in our republic rests squarely on our shoulders.

Throughout this constitutional crisis, Hayes said she remained in the Capitol complex, ready to cast her vote to preserve the votes of the American people in this presidential election.

“I will not be dissuaded by a band of menacing cowards who refuse to concede an election,” she added. “While voters have a right to be disappointed at the outcome and even a constitutional right to dispute the results, they have no right to violence or to violate the American tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.”

US Senator Chris Murphy noted in a statement, “Peaceful protest is deeply patriotic. Insurrection is sedition, and those that are taking part in the attempted takeover of the Capitol, including the destruction and desecration of our nation’s temple of democracy, will be held accountable.”

Vowing to “find a way to find strength amidst this horror,” Murphy extended thanks “to the Capitol Police and other law enforcement and military personnel who are defending our nation at this moment. We will rise from this dark day as a nation. I am sure of it.”

Connecticut Senator Tony Hwang, who represents Newtown, denounced “in the strongest terms,” the insurrection and violence that played out in Washington.

“I am standing up loud and forcefully for democracy and all Americans who value peaceful, law abiding forms of activism and protest to say, ‘Enough and No More.’ There is a very distinct difference between voicing one’s opinion against violent mob action — especially in a manner today that threatens people’s safety and undermines our political process,” Hwang added.

“This is not a partisan issue. Every American deserves to express their freedom of speech and protest without putting themselves or other people’s health and safety at risk. It is our responsibility as proud Americans to speak up now and boldly renounce this un-American behavior.”

From Newtown First Selectman Dan Rosenthal came the statement, “Yesterday’s events were something we have witnessed in other countries but I never thought we would see it here. No matter our politics, we need to call out violence of any kind at all times. Nothing about yesterday’s attack on the seat of our democracy was peaceful, it was armed insurrection. Sadly, police officers were injured and there was at least one life lost. As elected officials, our words matter as do our actions. I love our country and despite the ugly darkness of yesterday, we will move forward to better and brighter days.”

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong used strong words to sum up his feelings as he witnessed the siege on the Capitol Wednesday, saying, “The terrorists, traitors, and enablers who instigated, aided, and abetted this coup — including those in Congress — must be held accountable and never walk these halls of democracy again.”

Calling for the president to resign immediately, Tong added, “Anyone still standing with Donald Trump in his attempt to reject the will of American voters and overthrow our democratically elected government shares his unmistakable guilt.”

The president had goaded the mob earlier Wednesday during a live appearance in front of the White House as his supporters, numbering in the hundreds, perhaps thousands, gathered before they took the president’s lead and began marching toward the Capitol. He even denounced Vice President Mike Pence as a coward for not stopping the process that would be the final procedural step before Biden’s inauguration.

After reconvening after 7 pm, Congress eventually confirmed Biden as the presidential election winner early Thursday. Lawmakers were resolved to complete the Electoral College tally in a display to the country, and the world, of the nation’s enduring commitment to uphold the will of the voters and the peaceful transfer of power. They pushed through the night with tensions high and the nation’s capital on alert.

Vice President Mike Pence, presiding over the joint session, announced the tally, 306-232.

Soon after, Trump acknowledged his defeat in the November 3 election and announced there would be an “orderly transition on January 20th.”

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” Trump said in a statement posted to Twitter by his social media director. His own account had been locked by the company for posting messages that appeared to justify the assault on the seat of the nation’s democracy.

Associated Press and CTMirror content from Mark Pazniokas was used in this report.