One reporter's 21 hour nightmare inside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021
CNN
January 6, 2021 started like lots of days on Capitol Hill for CNN reporter Daniella Diaz. She was braced for a very long day as Congress was set to formalize Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. What transpired over the next 21 hours -- rioters storming the US Capitol in an attempted coup -- was history in the making. On the anniversary of that fateful day, I reached out to Daniella to talk about her recollections -- and what memories have stayed with her. Our conversation -- conducted via email and lightly edited for flow -- is below.
Cillizza: Describe the mood at the Capitol when you arrived for work on January 6. Were people aware of the "Stop the Steal" rally? Worried about it?
Diaz: For me, I thought it was just going to be another normal day on the congressional beat. I've grown accustomed to the long days that come with this job and I didn't think this day would be any different. I was prepared to work late -- I just didn't realize when I arrived at the Capitol at 9 a.m. on Jan. 6 that it would also mean evacuating my workspace and hiding in another location just a few hours later.
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