Trump's second impeachment trial: Day 2

By Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner, Veronica Rocha, Melissa Mahtani and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 11:41 p.m. ET, February 10, 2021

57 Posts

Sort by

6:30 p.m. ET, February 10, 2021

Video shows mob's desire to find and harm House Speaker Pelosi

From CNN's Jason Kurtz

New video presented during today's impeachment trial shows rioters' desire to find and attack House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"They sought out the Speaker on the Floor and in her office, publicly declared their intent to harm or kill her, ransacked her office and terrorized her staff," House impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett said, adding "and they did it because Donald Trump sent them on this mission."

After Pelosi was ushered away from the House floor on Jan. 6, "Capitol police deemed the threat so dangerous that they evacuated her entirely from the Capitol complex," Plaskett added.

Plaskett shared social media content posted by one of the rioters to emphasize the insurrectionists' efforts to locate and harm the House Speaker.

"The first of us who got upstairs kicked in Nancy Pelosi's office door and pushed down the halls toward her inner sanctum, the mob howling with rage. 'Crazy Nancy' probably would have been torn into little pieces, but she was nowhere to be seen," said Plaskett, reading from William Calhoun's Facebook account.

Calhoun, a lawyer from Georgia, has since been charged for his role in the Jan. 6th insurrection.

As Plaskett continued her presentation, she offered new video of the mob and its violent attempts to locate Speaker Pelosi.

"Where are you, Nancy? We're looking for you!" bellowed rioters seen in the video. "She's in here," shouted one man, followed by another:

"Nancy? Oh, Nancy? Nancy, where are you, Nancy?"

Watch here:

5:20 p.m. ET, February 10, 2021

Here's what the scene is like inside the Senate chamber as new Capitol riot footage is shown

From CNN's Sarah Fortinsky and pool reports

The senators from both sides of the aisle sat in rapt attention as the first pieces of Capitol riot video played, and they listened intently as the Democratic impeachment managers played never before heard audio of radio communications from Capitol Police on the day of the insurrection.

When the impeachment managers began their presentation which showed a step-by-step timeline with graphic video of the Capitol riot, many senators strained in their seats to get a better view of the video monitor.

In the back row on the Democratic side, Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Michael Bennet of Colorado got out of their seats and stood to watch.

Bennet eventually sat down, but Warner paced behind his seat and stood for several minutes before sitting back down.

As the presentation continued, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois leaned over and made note of something to Bennet who nodded in agreement. She then put her hands over her head to demonstrate part of her point.

On the Republican side, senators showed little emotion, but they were all paying close attention. Many only turning their heads away from the video screens to take notes.

GOP Sen. Mitt Romney didn’t move when they showed the video of US Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman directing him away from rioters. He has a mask on so hard to see his reaction, just blinking rapidly. But he was watching intently.

6:33 p.m. ET, February 10, 2021

Security video shows how close Senate leader Schumer came to the mob

House impeachment manager Rep. Eric Swalwell played new security video from inside the Capitol showing how current Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had a "near miss with the mob" on Jan. 6.

"They came within just yards of rioters," Swalwell said, while playing footage of then-Senate Minority Leader Schumer and his security detail evacuating.

The video shows Schumer and his team walking up a ramp then, seconds later, running back down the hallway and officers immediately shut the door and "use their bodies to keep them safe," Swalwell said.

Swalwell is presenting now on the Senate floor alongside the other House impeachment managers, and is detailing how close the rioters got to members of the Senate during the insurrection at the Capitol.

Watch the moment:

5:13 p.m. ET, February 10, 2021

Lawmakers removed their congressional pins to hide from the mob

Lawmakers removed their congressional pins as a mob of pro-Trump rioters moved into the Capitol building, House impeachment manager Rep. Eric Swalwell said in his remarks today.

"Out of fear that they would be seen or taken by the mob, my colleagues were telling each other to take off their congressional pins," he said from the Senate floor.

A video from Rep. Dan Kildee, a Democrat from Michigan, showed lawmakers trapped inside the gallery. They can be heard telling each other, "Take your pins off," and "Pins off."

7:24 p.m. ET, February 10, 2021

Chilling video shows Pelosi staffers hiding as rioters try to break down the door

Impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett presented chilling video that showed staffers rushing out of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office as the mob made their way inside the Capitol.

She described how they "feared for their lives" as rioters broke into Pelosi's office and her staff were were ushered into a conference room. In the video they could be seen whispering as rioters started to break down the door as they hunted for Pelosi.

Here's how Plaskett explained it:

"As you can see here, the staff moves from the offices into the halls and enters a door on the right-hand side. That's the outer door of a conference room, which also has an inner door that they barricaded with furniture. The staff then hid under a conference room table in that inner room. This is the last staffer going in and then barricading themselves inside of the inner office. After just seven minutes of them barricading themselves and the last staffer entering the door on the right, a group of rioters enter the hallway outside. And once inside, the rioters have free reign in the speaker of the House's offices. In this security video, pay attention to the door that we saw those staffers leading into and going into. One of the rioters, you can see, is throwing his body against the door three times until he breaks open that outer door. Luckily, when faced with the inner door, he moves on. Another rioter later tried, unsuccessfully, to break through that inner door. At this point, the mob had already broken into the speaker's formal conference room that is in the back of the hall at the top of the video."

She also played an audio recording "of the speaker's staff with the rioters at the door that day."

"You can hear the terror in their voice, as they describe what's happening to them, as they are barricaded in that conference room. Please listen carefully, because the staffer is whispering into a phone as he hides from the rioters that are outside the door," she said.

"You can hear the pounding in the background as that staffer is speaking," Plaskett continued. "One of those staffers explained later they could hear the mob going through her offices, breaking down the door and yelling "Where are you, Nancy?" The mob also pillaged and vandalized the speaker's office and documented their crimes on social media. They stole objects, desecrated the office of the speaker of the house of representatives of the United States. As you can see in these photos, rioters broke down a door. They also shattered a mirror."

Plakett's presentation is part of 16 hours of arguments House impeachment managers are making today to demonstrate the extent of the violence that occurred on Jan. 6 and the threat the rioters posed to everyone in the Capitol.

Watch here:

6:52 p.m. ET, February 10, 2021

The man seen in viral photograph at Pelosi's desk was carrying a 950,000 volt stun gun

From CNN's Josiah Ryan

House impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett revealed today that the the man photographed sitting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk on Jan. 6 was carrying a 950,000 volt "stun gun walking stick."

"The weapon could have caused serious pain and incapacitated anyone Barnett had used it against," said Plaskett, displaying a zoomed in photograph of the device, tucked into his pants.

Plaskett said the FBI had later identified the device from the photo.

Richard Barnett, who left a note for Pelosi, later appeared on social media to brag about desecrating Pelosi's office. Plaskett also showed a photo of Barnett's note during her presentation. The note read: "We will not back down."

Barnett, a resident of Alabama, has been charged with knowingly entering and remaining in restricted building ground without authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and the theft of public property, officials said early last month.

He was also charged in connection with the pipe bomb found on the south side of the Capitol building, 11 Molotov cocktails and military-style weapon found in his pickup truck.

Watch here:

5:03 p.m. ET, February 10, 2021

Capitol rioter appears in court at the same time House managers present a video of him

From CNN's Katelyn Polantz and Marshall Cohen

At the same time as House managers were presenting video of Dominic Pezzola, an alleged member of the Proud Boys, storming the Capitol, Pezzola was before a magistrate judge in DC District Court who was considering a Justice Department request to keep him detained as he awaits trial.

The Democratic lawmakers highlighted his role as one of the first people to breach the Capitol. They showed video of him smashing a window, which allowed dozens of rioters to rush into the building. In addition to showing widely shared social media footage from outside the Capitol, the Democratic managers played never-before-seen security camera footage depicting the breach of the window from inside the building.

In court, prosecutor Erik Kenerson tip-toed around calling him a Proud Boy, without saying the group's name specifically, and instead described him becoming a "leader" of an effort to overtake a pedestrian walkway in or near the Capitol building on Jan. 6. Kenerson also described how Pezzola "was not some solitary actor" who came to DC — alleging he may have planned and coordinated with others to stop the certification of Joe Biden's presidential win, even meeting up with some the morning of the pro-Trump rally.

Kenerson said also "the defendant's group" discussed a return to DC after Jan. 6 and was interested in "fomenting rebellion," a phrase used in another prior court filing seeking to keep a Proud Boy leader from Washington state detained.

Pezzola's lawyer said he does not have a long history with the Proud Boys and is not a threat to public safety.

The judge has not yet decided if Pezzola will stay in jail.

4:53 p.m. ET, February 10, 2021

GOP sources say managers' evidence is clearly targeting Senate Republicans

From CNN's Jamie Gangel

Evidence presented today was clearly targeted for Senate Republicans, including video of a crowd chanting "Destroy the GOP" and mentions of "relentless attacks on Mike Pence," GOP sources said.

Two senior Republican Capitol Hill sources gave very different reactions to how GOP members are likely to vote that reflects the division in the party, but also the political realities.

"I'll be shocked if anyone changed their vote from yesterday," one said.

Another said: "I cannot imagine how any senator sits and listens to this and votes against conviction."

A former GOP Senate staffer believes that the GOP senators are either scared of Trump's base or were a party to what happened, and will never vote to convict.

"What I’ve heard from senate friends is similar — that lots of their bosses would love to vote against him but don’t want the fallout. Most of the folks at the lower level will grouse about it in the office, but it’s something that the top two-three aides will ultimately advise on, and they tend to be more cognizant of the political winds in the state.

"So each time the state Republican parties put out a statement bashing a senator, it really dampens any desire to buck the party," the GOP Senate staff said.

One senior GOP former administration official questioned how anyone can vote to acquit.

"How anybody could vote to acquit after watching that yesterday is just beyond," the official said.

6:48 p.m. ET, February 10, 2021

House manager says Capitol footage shows rioters wanted to "execute" Pence

New security footage showed how then-Vice President Mike Pence was evacuated on Jan. 6 as rioters breached the Capitol, looking for him.

"During the assault on the Capitol, extremists reportedly coordinated online and discussed how they could hunt down the vice president. Journalists in the Capitol reported they heard rioters say they were looking for Pence in order to execute him," Stacey Plaskett, a House impeachment manager, said while presenting a series of new videos.

The security footage shows Pence and his family quickly moving down the stairs. The vice president turns around briefly in the video. During the same time frame, rioters were spreading throughout the building, Plaskett said.

"As the rioters reached the top of the stairs, they were within 100 feet of where the vice president was sheltering with his family, and they were just feet away from one of the doors to this chamber," she said.

In one video shown, the crowd can be heard chanting "hang Mike Pence" as they stood in the open door of the Capitol building. A photo showed a gallow outside on the lawn.

"After President Trump had primed his followers for months and inflamed the rally-goers that morning, it is no wonder that the Vice President of the United States was the target of their wrath, after Pence refused to overturn the election results," Plaskett said.

"They were talking about assassinating the Vice President of the United States," she added during her arguments.

Watch here: