Riot in America: Compelling and courageous coverage of the insurrection at the US Capitol
Supporters of President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
By Scott Applewhite, Andrew Harnik, Manuel Balce Ceneta, John Minchillo, Julio Cortez, Carolyn Kaster, Jacquelyn Martin, Jose Luis Magana, Mary Clare Jalonick, Andrew Taylor, Dan Huff, Nathan Ellgren, Hilary Powell, Nan Hee McMinn, Jaime Vera, Juan Quiroga, Ashraf Khalil and Ben Fox
The AP team arriving on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 expected to cover history: an unprecedented challenge from Republicans lawmakers to the outcome of the presidential election. Within hours, however, those staffers found themselves covering an insurrectionist mob storming the U.S. Capitol.
President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally near the White House, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin
Journalists initially embedded in the protests forming on the streets, particularly a rally by President Donald Trump near the White House. Reporters Ashraf Khalil and Ben Fox were with the crowd as it first began to assemble, providing the first early color and quotes that revealed the intensity of those who would go on to attack the Capitol.
As Vice President Mike Pence opened the congressional session, the Trump supporters began streaming down Pennsylvania Avenue. A WhatsApp group linking the AP journalists — editors, photographers, video journalists — pinged incessantly as the crowd surged toward Capitol Hill.
With the Washington Monument in the background, people attend a rally with President Donald Trump near the White House, Jan. 6, 2021. Congress was meeting later to certify the results of the Nov. 3 election. – AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin
A man dressed as George Washington kneels and prays with a Trump flag near the Washington Monument, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Carolyn Kaster
As Congress prepared to affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Trump supporters rally near the White House, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
Protesters supporters supporting President Donald Trump try to break through a police line at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Julio Cortez
Pro-Trump protesters try to tear away a security barricade at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
Protesters supporting President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana
Law enforcement personnel monitor demonstrators confronting police at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
Protesters in support of President Donald Trump overrun the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana
At the U.S. Capitol, Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., talk before a joint session of the House and Senate to certify the Electoral College votes cast for the Nov. 3 election, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
Vice President Mike Pence leads lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., top center, as a joint session of the House and Senate convenes to confirm the electoral votes cast in the Nov. 3 election, at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Andrew Harnik
Members of the House of Representatives leave the House floor carrying gas masks as protesters try to break into the chamber at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
Lawmakers evacuate the floor as protesters try to break into the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Vice President Mike Pence officiate as a joint session of the House and Senate convenes to confirm the Electoral College votes for Nov. 3 election, at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
The House chamber is empty after a sudden evacuation as protesters tried to break into the chamber at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
Protesters loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
Trump supporters clash with law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Julio Cortez
U.S. Capitol Police try to hold back protesters outside the east doors to the House side of the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Andrew Harnik
Trump supporters protest in a doorway of the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / John Minchillo
U.S. Capitol Police with guns drawn stand near a barricaded door as protesters try to break into the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Andrew Harnik
People take cover in the House gallery as pro-Trump protesters try to break into the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Andrew Harnik
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., center, takes cover with others in the House gallery as protesters try to break into the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Andrew Harnik
People in the House gallery move to shelter as pro-Trump protesters try to break into the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Andrew Harnik
Supporters of President Donald Trump are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate chamber inside the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta
Trump supporters confront U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber of the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta
U.S. Capitol Police hold protesters at gunpoint near the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Andrew Harnik
Police stand guard after a day of riots at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / Julio Cortez
Inside the building, reporters Mary Clare Jalonick and Andrew Taylor began hearing rumblings from sources that the situation was getting tense. Outside, video journalists Dan Huff, Nathan Ellgren and Hilary Powell, and photographers John Minchillo, Julio Cortez, Jose Magana, Carolyn Kaster and Jacquelyn Martin began beaming back images of U.S. Capitol Police being overrun.
At one critical point, a group of men grabbed Minchillo and surrounded him, accusing him of being an antifa infiltrator, hitting him from behind and throwing him over a retaining wall. Cortez, who was paired with him for safety, plunged in, recording all the while with the GoPro clipped to his helmet. The two eventually extracted themselves and moved away to transmit photos. The GoPro video shot by Cortez went viral globally on Facebook and Twitter,with more than 31,000 hits on AP’s YouTube channel.
Protesters smash AP broadcast equipment after the crew was forced to flee the mob outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo /Jose Luis Magana
Colleagues at AP Global Media Services,AP’s business supporting other broadcasters,faced danger too. Confronted outside the Capitol by a group of rioters,the GMS personnel attempted to calm the crowd but were eventually forced to leave for their own safety. The gear left behind was smashed. Producer Nan Hee McMinn and freelance cameramen Jaime Vera and Juan Quiroga acted coolly and professionally throughout.
Just a few minutes later,at 2:12 p.m., AP filed this alert:
It was one of more than 40 alerts Washington desk editors would send during a 24-hour period,reflecting the extraordinary churn of news.
Inside the Capitol, photographers Scott Applewhite and Andrew Harnik captured scenes of lawmakers diving for cover and donning gas masks,and law enforcement holding protesters at gunpoint as they tried to break into the House chamber. At the same time, Manny Ceneta was making photos of protesters roaming the hallways and confronting police outside the Senate.
Police hold their guns on protesters trying to break into the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. – AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
When officers ordered journalists to evacuate,Applewhite,who has covered the Capitol for decades,refused to leave. “I just told them I was fine and refused to leave. This is the AP — we stay and report,” Applewhite said. At various points along the way,with the cell network strained,the editors knew the photographers were safe only when photos started streaming directly from their cameras into the AP bureau.
Hours after texting her mother that she was in “Probably the safest place in Washington right now,” Jalonick, along with Taylor,evacuated to secure locations with House and Senate members, calling in news alerts and color and interviewing lawmakers for the mainbar. In addition to their first-person text stories, Jalonick also filed a first-person video and video of the evacuation recorded with her phone.
Reporters from every AP beat across Washington — White House,Congress,national security,law enforcement and domestic policy agencies — jumped in to help,urgently calling sources to get a handle on the security situation,taking feeds from colleagues in the field and tracking user-generated content.
Hours later,when the mob was finally contained, there was the business of Congress still to do. The Capitol Hill and White House teams worked into Thursday morning to cover Congress’ overnight affirmation of Joe Biden’s victory and President Donald Trump’s acknowledgement that he would leave power. It was well after 3 a.m. when those news alerts were filed.
“This is the AP — we stay and report.”
— AP photographer Scott Applewhite
By the time the sun was up, the whole bureau was awake — and breaking news again. Law enforcement reporters Colleen Long and Mike Balsamo and Pentagon reporter Lolita Baldor broke the news that Capitol Police had turned down offers of help with the siege,setting the agenda for days of reporting that would follow.
For their riveting real-time coverage as U.S. history unfolded, the courageous and dedicated staff on Capitol Hill earns AP’s Best of the Week award.
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and discarded items from the floor of the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, 2021, after protesters stormed the Capitol the previous day. – AP Photo / Andrew Harnik
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