How the politicians inside the building remembered today

You'll no doubt remember the images of US politicians, who had gathered in the US Capitol for a joint session of Congress to certify the election results, crouched on the ground as they fled America's chambers of government. A lot of them have spoken today to reflect and remember their experiences, and here's a selection of them.

Representative Colin Allred (Democrat, Texas) recalled that he and colleagues on the House floor took off their jackets in expectation of fighting for their lives.

“We were ready to try and defend our colleagues from whatever was going to come through those doors," he said. Allred, 38, is a former NFL linebacker, but no one knew what to expect and finally officers evacuated them.

“As we were exiting the House floor, I saw the glass breaking. I saw the officers staying behind with their guns drawn. And I thought about the opportunity that they had given me,” he said.

Representative Dan Kildee (Democrat, Michigan) recounted lying on the floor of the House gallery and calling his family “to tell them I was safe, even though I was not sure that I was.”

The five-term House veteran, 63, said his recovery from that day “has not been an easy one.” That was a reference to the trauma he's suffered and the counseling he's received, which he's discussed publicly before.

“It's been made more painful, however, by that fact that most of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle continue to accommodate that big lie that was the predicate for the attack on our country," he said.

Representative Adam Schiff (Democrat, California) said he wasn’t fully aware of the dangers surrounding him until he was told to get a gas mask.

Schiff recalled how two Republican colleagues approached him as the order came to evacuate the House chamber.

“One of them said, ‘You can’t let them see you. I know these people. I can talk to these people. I can talk my way through these people. You are in a whole different category.’”

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