I Watched the Capitol Siege Begin. I Was Threatened For Being a Reporter.
The Mother Jones Podcast
Mother Jones
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2021
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On Wednesday, a mob of Trump supporters surged towards the US Capitol as the Senate was debating certification of Joe Biden’s election win. “No one gets out alive, not today!” a man brandishing a Trump flag shouted, according to MoJo reporter Matt Cohen, who was there when the barricades fell and the insurgency began. The rioters then scaled the walls, smashed windows, and ran through the Capitol building, ransacking and looting as they went, forcing unprepared police officers to issue tear gas and lockdown orders. Five people were killed. The Capitol rotunda was littered with broken glass and damaged furniture.
Having covered many protests over the years, Cohen says this one was different: “This really felt like the first time that if I had been wearing my press badge, especially when things go hairy, I would have been a target.” Cohen joins Jamilah King on the Mother Jones Podcast to share his firsthand account with our listeners.
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's Jemila King here with a Friday extra for Mother Jones podcast listeners to wrap up this |
| 0:15.1 | wild and history-making week. We always say that in Trumps America, but it's always true. |
| 0:21.1 | A chat with our reporter Matt Cohen, |
| 0:24.2 | who was covering the insurrection |
| 0:26.0 | as it unfolded on Wednesday on the ground. |
| 0:28.6 | It was a scene of one of the darkest days |
| 0:30.7 | in American history, a failed insurrection. |
| 0:33.2 | It began with large crowds. |
| 0:35.2 | We're going to walk down to the Capitol. |
| 0:39.1 | A real firsthand account of what it was like |
| 0:42.2 | to see mobs of Trump supporters try to overtake |
| 0:45.7 | the U.S. Capitol. |
| 0:47.0 | We were just told that there has been tear gas in the rotunda, and we're being instructed to each of us get gas |
| 0:56.6 | masked that are under our seats. |
| 0:58.8 | We saw that she was severely injured and bleeding, and we watched as paramedics fought to try and save her life |
| 1:04.9 | only to learn later that she lost it. |
| 1:07.2 | Matt welcome to the Mother Jones podcast. |
| 1:09.2 | Thanks for having me Jamila. Okay Matt, how are you doing? |
| 1:17.0 | Physically okay a little bit emotionally shook from the events of this week as I'm sure a lot of people are. |
| 1:23.3 | Matt, take us to the scene that day. |
| 1:26.4 | When did you get to the Capitol and why were you there? |
| 1:28.8 | I actually got to the National Mall just south of the White House first before I got to the |
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