Congressional assistant who carried electoral ballots on Jan 6 tells her story

Two years ago, former President Donald Trump instructed an armed mob to march to the building after a rally at the White House, 19 year old Brennan Leach was working on the Senate floor that day as a congressional assistant, tasked with carrying the ballots between chambers. Leach remembers things escalating quickly. "We were all genuinely really excited for the day. We were told that we were going to get this special responsibility to transfer ballots. And we were getting dressed and picking out outfits like the prom.” Leach carried out her duties and was watching the proceedings, when suddenly, Capitol police came in and told everyone to bunker down. The Capitol had been breached. “The wake up moment was when I started hearing ‘Hang Mike Pence’ on the other side of the wall.” Leach says assistants are not allowed to bring phones onto the Chamber floor, so getting information about the attack and her safety was nearly impossible. Then, another door to the Chamber swung open. Leach hesitated. A young woman Leach barely knew grabbed her by the arm and told her to run. “That moment of her arm grabbing mine is when I really realized the sense of urgency. I think I had been shocked by everything that was unfolding... Not having to access to Twitter or the outside world, I didn’t know what was true.”Jan. 7, 2023