WASHINGTON – US Representative Val Demings said she was in the gallery of the house chambers when they were told the inside of the capitol building had been breached.
As a former Orlando police chief, she said she went into police mode, calming down other members of congress while keeping her eyes on all doors and windows.
“We were told to get down. We were told that there were gas masks under our seats, and we needed to get those and have those handy in case capitol police had to deploy gas,” Demings said.
Demings said that her goal was to be watchful, but helpful as police worked to move them to another location. She said she could hear the rioters as they continued to make their way through the capitol complex.
Impeachment, 25th Amendment, this president must go, and then must face criminal charges.
— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings) January 7, 2021
Everybody counts, but everybody is accountable.
“I was looking into the eyes of my colleagues and we all were not sure how it would end. I offered some scriptures to one and said we are the good guys, and we are going to win and democracy is going to stand,” Demings said.
Her husband, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said that for a brief time during the chaos, he couldn’t reach his wife.
“We went through the emotional rollercoaster not knowing if she was safe or not,” Jerry Demings said.
Demings said that she plans to work into the early morning hours of Thursday in order to certify the electoral college votes for president-elect Joe Biden.
Demings also said if Congress moved to impeach President Trump with less than two weeks left in office, it could prevent him from ever holding public office again.