Former Capitol Police officer recounts Jan. 6: 'It's hard to relive'
Former Capitol Hill Police Officer Winston Pingeon recalled the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters breached the Capitol in an apparent attempt to stop Congress’s certification of the Electoral College results, in an interview with ABC News.
"It's hard to relive and talk about moments like this. I had that moment right there that I might die right here on the steps of the U.S. Capitol," ABC reported that Pingeon said.
ABC News reported that Pingeon and his team had gone to the Capitol's west front on Jan. 6, which was the site of some of the "most brutal violence" against police. Pingeon recounted to ABC News that he could hear radio calls from officers yelling for help and that a line had been breached.
"They sounded panicked and like they really needed help. So, in my mind, that was one of the first indicators, 'Hey, maybe this is not just a normal protest,'" he told ABC News.
Pingeon reportedly returned to Capitol Hill shortly after the riot and served as an officer for nine months, but has since left.
He told ABC News that after the breach "it seemed like everybody was on the same page" and that the events of that day were "not OK."
"Then very quickly the narrative shifted. And that was really difficult to see," the news outlet reported that Pingeon said.
About 140 Capitol Hill police officers were injured by rioters, according to ABC News. Four officers who responded to the breach have since died by suicide.
ABC News reported that it found through an investigation that some conservatives, including former President Trump, have "begun to downplay the violence on Jan. 6" and have attempted to paint it "as a largely peaceful protest and recasting imprisoned rioters as 'hostages.'"
This comes in the wake of a newly unsealed filing on special counsel Jack Smith's federal election subversion case against Trump, which reveals new details about Trump's efforts to remain in The White House after losing to President Biden in the 2020 presidential election.