U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was in danger during the Capitol riots on January 6, as violent groups executing the incursion drew dangerously close to him.
The fourteen minutes between the reports of the breach and Pence's evacuation from the danger zone was enough time for armed individuals to surge into the building and approach the Vice President's location, according to law enforcement officials and video footage from that day. Following this, Secret Service agents moved Mike Pence to a room near the Senate chamber with his wife and daughter, as rioters began streaming into the Capitol, loudly calling the Vice President a traitor as they walked on the first floor below the Senate chamber.
Just moments after Mike Pence was removed from the room, a group of rioters ascended the stairs to the second floor, chasing a Capitol police officer who managed to fend them off from the Senate. Meanwhile, Mike Pence and his family had just entered a secure location at least 30 feet away from the breach. Had Trump supporters arrived only seconds earlier, the attackers would have come face to face with the Vice President, according to the Washington Post.
This incident raises questions about why Mike Pence was not evacuated by the intelligence agency earlier and the risks faced by senior government leaders during the Capitol siege. These details highlight the perilous situation that the Vice President confronted and how law enforcement agencies struggled to manage the rapidly escalating crisis. The Washington Post reported that the intelligence agency declined to comment on any aspects of Pence's movements in the Capitol or his evacuation, other than stating that he was "safe" during the siege.
