‘Dad, I don’t want to come back’: Rep. Jamie Raskin, in tears at trial, recounts daughter’s fear during Capitol riot

Rep. Jamie Raskin recounts his daughter’s fear while visiting the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 riots. USA TODAY

Rep. Jamie Raskin choked up repeatedly Tuesday as he recalled assuring his daughter, Tabitha, and son-in-law Hank that it would be safe to watch the House count Electoral College votes on Jan. 6.

Raskin, D-Md., said the young adults watched the proceedings from the balcony above the chamber before returning to an office where they barricaded the door. While separated from Raskin, they sent desperate texts to loved ones while hiding beneath a table.

“They thought they were going to die,” Raskin said amid tears while speaking during the first day of President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial.

More: His son died. A week later he survived the Capitol riots. Now, he’s leading the impeachment case against Donald Trump.

Raskin said he’ll never forget the haunting sound of a battering ram that rioters pounded against the House door. He recalled how a rioter mercilessly pummeled a police officer with an American flag pole. Other officers suffered brain damage, had their eyes gouged and one lost three fingers, Raskin said. Officer Brian Sicknick died from his injuries the next day.

Raskin gestured to the pin on his lapel identifying him as a member of the House and said lawmakers were removing them as they evacuated.

When he was later reunited with his 24-year-old daughter, Raskin apologized and said it would be safe the next time she visited. She told him she didn’t want to return: “Dad, I don’t want to come back to the Capitol.”

“Senators, this cannot be the future of America,” said Raskin as he choked up. “We cannot have presidents inciting and mobilizing mob violence against our government and our institutions because they refuse to accept the will of the people under the Constitution of the United States.”

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