A Capitol Police officer who was one of the first injured whereas making an attempt to carry again a pro-Trump mob seeking to storm the U.S. Capitol will testify at the opening hearing of the Jan. 6 committee on Thursday, two sources accustomed to the matter confirmed to NBC News.
Caroline Edwards suffered a concussion on Jan. 6, 2021, when she cracked her head on the steps exterior the Capitol after being knocked to the floor by rioters pushing again a barricade. “Why are you standing in our way?” one of the rioters allegedly requested her, in accordance with court docket paperwork.
Edwards advised The New York Times that she’s suffered fainting spells consequently of the mind harm, which has affected her means to do her job.
In a court docket submitting urging a choose to detain one of her alleged attackers, Ryan Samsel, Edwards stated: (*6*)
“You have stolen moments away from me that I can’t get back,” she stated.
Samsel has pleaded not responsible in the case and is awaiting trial.
Despite her accidents, Edwards advised MSNBC final 12 months that she remembers the day of the assault vividly.
“Those images, the smells, the yelling — you know, the chaos. That day was a war zone,” she stated.
Edwards will be half of the Jan. 6 committee’s first public hearing starting at 8 p.m. ET Thursday. Also testifying will be Nick Quested, a British documentary filmmaker who was following members of the far-right militia group the Proud Boys as the riot unfolded, a supply accustomed to the matter advised NBC News. Some of Quested’s footage features a assembly between Proud Boys chief Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers chief Stewart Rhodes on the day earlier than the riot.
Edwards and Quested’s deliberate testimony was first reported by The New York Times.
The committee stated final week it “will present previously unseen material documenting January 6th, receive witness testimony, preview additional hearings, and provide the American people a summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power.”
