Off-duty cops, other officials face reckoning after rallying for Trump during US Capitol siege Toggle share menu
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Off-duty cops, other officials face reckoning after rallying for Trump during US Capitol siege
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, US on Jan 6, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Stephanie Keith)
14 Jan 2021 09:21AM (Updated:
14 Jan 2021 10:49AM) Share this content
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WASHINGTON: As rioters scaled scaffolding outside the US Capitol, Roxanne Mathai held up her mobile phone to record the sea of supporters of President Donald Trump storming America’s bastion of democracy.
“We’re going in, tear gas and all,” said the 46-year-old Texas jailer.
By Linda So, Andrea Januta, Mike Berens
11 Min Read
(Reuters) - As rioters scaled scaffolding outside the U.S. Capitol, Roxanne Mathai held up her cell phone to record the sea of supporters of President Donald Trump storming America’s bastion of democracy.
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump protest in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S. January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo
“We’re going in,” said the 46-year-old Texas jailer, “tear gas and all.”
Mathai, a jail lieutenant and 8-year veteran of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, approached the Capitol steps last Wednesday as rioters in front of her breached barricades.
Dozens of public servants including firefighters, lawmakers, teachers, municipal workers, law enforcement and military personnel joined events that became the siege on the U.S. Capitol.
As rioters scaled scaffolding outside the U.S. Capitol, Roxanne Mathai held up her cell phone to record the sea of supporters of President Donald Trump storming America’s bastion of democracy.
On Monday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, asked acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller to allow military criminal investigators to join civilian law enforcement authorities in determining if troops or veterans took part in the insurrection. The Pentagon acknowledged receiving Duckworth’s letter.
Duckworth, D-Ill., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked by letter that military criminal investigators determine whether service members or veterans “engaged in insurrection or participated in a seditious conspiracy.”
“Our Nation must demonstrate resolve and resilience in bringing the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and conspiracy theorists who formed this mob to justice,” Duckworth wrote. “This includes addressing deeply troubling reports that members of the U.S. Armed Forces” and veterans took part in the mayhem that resulted in five deaths.