Raskin Recounts Family's Experience on Jan. 6: 'They Thought They Were Going to Die'

House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin closed his arguments Tuesday with an intensely personal story about the impact of the insurrection on his family. Raskin had buried his son Tommy, who died by suicide, the day before. He had brought his daughter Tabitha and his son-in-law Hank to the Capitol as they grieved together, only to have them caught up in the riot.

“They thought they were going to die,” he said. When they were finally rescued, Raskin embraced his daughter and told her it wouldn’t be like this the next time she comes.

“She said, ‘Dad, I don’t want to come back to the Capitol,’” he said, choking up as colleagues in the Senate chamber fell silent.

Raskin said since Jan. 6, the video that has hit him the hardest was of someone using a flagpole with an American flag on it to attack a police officer.

Raskin said officers ended up with brain damage and had their eyes gouged. One had a heart attack, another lost three fingers and two have since committed suicide.

“This cannot be our future,” the Maryland Democrat said. “This cannot be the future of America. We cannot have presidents, inciting and mobilizing mob violence against our government and our institutions because they refuse to accept the will of the people under the Constitution of the United States.”

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