Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that an “assassination party” was “hunting” for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Raskin, the lead House impeachment manager in the proceedings against President Donald Trump, was discussing the impending delivery of impeachment articles to the U.S. Senate with CNN anchor Jake Tapper.
“I want people to focus on the solemnity and the gravity of these events,” Raskin said.
WATCH:
“Five Americans are dead because a violent mob was encouraged, exhorted and incited by the president of the United States of America, which broke into the Congress of the United States, into the Capitol and came within a hair’s breadth of hanging Vice President Pence,” he continued. “I mean, the words are still ringing in the ears of the members, ‘hang Mike Pence, hang Mike Pence.’ They built a gallows outside the Capitol of the United States.”
“There was an assassination party hunting for Nancy Pelosi,” Raskin said of the potential danger posed to the House speaker. “So, this cannot be at the level of normal partisan push and pull and just kind of throwing rhetorical bricks back and forth. This was an attack on our country.” (RELATED: Mike Huckabee: ‘If We’re Going To Impeach Donald Trump … Then We’d Better Impeach Kamala Harris’ For Bailing BLM Protesters Out Of Jail)
Disturbing video recently shared by The New Yorker showed one protester shouting “Where the fuck is Nancy?” Prosecutors, however, have rescinded initial claims that rioters were seeking to “capture and assassinate” officials.
The House of Representatives, with the help of 10 Republicans, voted 232-197 to impeach Trump on the charge of “incitement of insurrection.” A Senate trial is not expected to be completed until after the president has left office, but a conviction would bar him from running again.