For the first time, the U.S. Secret Service confirmed the suspected details about where Vice President Mike Pence was during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Testifying in the trial of Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin, Secret Service Inspector Lanelle Hawa told the court that Pence was taken to the loading dock on the east side of the Capitol on the Senate side. That was also where Alex Jones, Joe Biggs and the Oath Keepers were converging on the building.
As BuzzFeed justice
reporter Zoe Tillman explained Hawa is a 23-year veteran of the force and was with the Liaison Division at the time of Jan. 6. That office coordinates visitors to the US Capitol for USSS protectees.
When testifying before the Jan. 6 committee, Alex Jones
told his audience that when questioned, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination "almost 100 times."
Hawa said that the crowd grew on east front of Capitol, and "that’s where our motorcade was."
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There were reports that Pence was evacuated to the underground loading dock, but the USSS refused to confirm. It's the USSS policy not to comment on their procedures. However, Hawa's statement is the first confirmation that Pence was on the loading dock during the attack. The USSS also fought to discuss the issue on any public records,
Newsweek reported last year.
As
CBS reporter Scott MacFarlane explained in a thread, Pence's location will be a key piece of some of the Jan. 6 trials moving forward. Some of those attackers were intent on stopping Pence's participation of the process. As the VP and President of the Senate, Pence was tasked to preside over the election certification. Some of the Jan. 6 attackers believed that if they were able to stop Pence, they could also stop the certification. In a Jan. 5, 2021 report, it was reported by RollCall that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) assumed that Pence wouldn't be present and that he would preside over the certification. After the report, it was reported that Pence intended to be there. Grassley's office seemed to scramble to clarify that Grassley was just explaining what would happen if Pence walked away from the proceeding. "Every indication we have is that the vice president will be there," Grassley's office said.
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The Secret Service inspector went on to tell the court that Pence returned to the Senate chamber at approximately 7 p.m. and did not leave the loading dock area before he went back to the chamber.
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