San Diego’s congressional Democrats are calling for the impeachment of President Trump, in the wake of Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Representatives Sara Jacobs (D-CA 53rd) and Juan Vargas (D-CA 51st) both related how a frightening Wednesday unfolded for them.
Jacobs was on just her third day in office representing San Diego’s 53rd Congressional District. She was in the House gallery when Capitol Police told her and her colleagues to put on their chemical weapons hoods and shelter under their seats.
She said she heard flashbangs and guns firing outside. Eventually, she and her fellow representatives were evacuated to safe areas in the Capitol.
“Capitol Police told us to take our congressional pins off because they were worried that we would be more of a target if the protesters could see who the members of Congress were,” Jacobs said.
The new representative is now calling for action against President Donald Trump, either in the form of impeachment, or invoking the 25th Amendment.
"It's incredibly important that we hold everyone responsible for inciting, encouraging or committing the violence we saw yesterday responsible and accountable to the highest level," Jacobs said. "And while we will be getting a new president on Jan. 20, I think it's important to show very clearly what was done -- the president's attempt to overthrow an elected government because he didn't like the outcome of an election, it's unacceptable and something that can never happen again."
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While Jacobs was in the building, the representative of San Diego’s 51st Congressional District was in the tunnel linking the Capitol building to congressional office buildings across the street.
Vargas said he first started hearing the rioters coming into the Capitol, climbing over things to get in while he was in the tunnel.
“That’s when I heard some police officers yelling, 'Here they come, take shelter.' So, at that point, I ran back to my office to make sure my staff was fine,” Vargas said.
Vargas said once he got to his office, he could hear people yelling and screaming. He told his staff to get ready to defend themselves in case the office door was breached.
Then, they got word that rioters were climbing up scaffolding outside the building.
“There was one guy attempting to climb up the scaffolding and I told my staff, 'If he gets up here and tries to come in the window, we will throw him off the building,'” Vargas said.
Vargas said the man climbed back down before getting to his office window.
Jacobs and Vargas both echoed the sentiments of many of their colleagues in saying how important it was to get back to the floor, to finish their work of counting electoral votes.
