Mike Pence.Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
Former Vice PresidentMike Pencesheltered for several hours in a loading dock amid theJanuary 2021 riotsat the Capitol, a U.S. Secret Service inspector revealed for the first time during a court testimony on Monday.
Secret Service inspector Lanelle Hawa testified during the bench trial of “Cowboys for Trump” founder Couy Griffin, who is charged with two misdemeanor offenses for his alleged actions during theriots, according toCNN.
Hawa revealed Pence’s whereabouts on January 6, 2021 after rioters converged on the Capital to block the certification of now-President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
“We took him to a secure location … underground,” Hawa testified, the outlet reported. “It was in the loading dock.”
The loading dock — which was a restricted area established for the Electoral College certification — was located underneath the plaza on the Senate side of the building, she said.
Hawa also revealed that Pence, now 62, did not leave the location and remained there for “several hours, approximately four or five hours” along with his wife Karen and daughter Charlotte, according toBusiness InsiderandThe Washington Post.
“We had unknown individuals who were breaking through a security barrier, a site where we had protectees,” she said, according toThe Washington Post.“So it becomes a security issue when they [rioters] were surrounding a secure site and … potentially taking away options for our routes out.”
The prosecution is working to show that rioters jeopardized the security perimeter around Pence as Griffin is charged with entering and remaining in a restricted area as well as disorderly and disruptive conduct, CNN reports.
Griffin’s attorneys set up the argument that the area was no longer restricted because Pence left, the outlet reported.
Lawyers for Griffin were permitted to cross examine Hawa during the trial.
Mike Pence.Drew Angerer/Getty Images
“Griffin must be allowed to test the veracity of the Government’s contention that Vice President Pence was on the Capitol grounds during the relevant period,” Judge Trevor McFadden wrote prior to the trial.
However, after the questioning, McFadden said the lawyers had not established that Pence had left the restricted the area.
Never miss a story — sign up forto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.PEOPLE’s free weekly newsletter
“The photos show Pence in a barren garage. There were no windows and no furniture. This was a loading dock with concrete walls and a concrete floor,” Karl wrote.
source: people.com
