[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S437-S438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                AMERICA'S PHOTOJOURNALISTS AND JANUARY 6

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, they are sometimes called the Fourth 
Estate. The dedicated writers, researchers, editors, and investigators 
of the media, new and old. Their reporting writes the first draft of 
history. What an awesome responsibility.
  But today, I want to recognize one particular set of reporters: the 
press photographers. Their images, also part of the first draft of 
history, bring the words to life. The photos they capture tell stories 
through images--sometimes moving, sometimes horrific--a language so 
universal that, sometimes, they need no words.
  Many have written about the events of January 6, when a violent mob 
of insurrectionists attacked the Capitol and, indeed, our very seat of 
government. I was here that day, like so many Members of Congress, both 
the House and Senate, and so many staffers. And what I saw was unlike 
anything I have seen in my 47 years in the U.S. Senate. The press saw 
it, too--going on air to give accounts of what was happening, filing 
stories on the wires as the events were unfolding--and snapping the 
photographic evidence of the violence, the fear, the vandalism, and, 
yes, the determination of that day.
  Scott Applewhite, a longtime photographer for the Associated Press, 
earlier this month published a piece for ``The Public's Radio,'' 
recounting his experiences that day and sharing several of the 
photographs he took that document the events that unfolded. It is well 
worth a read, and I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the 
Record.
  For anyone who is unaware of or who doubts the role of the press, and 
of its vigilant photographers, know this: While we work to make 
history, it is they who write it, as they capture and document it in 
their images. And make no mistake: Their jobs are as critical today as 
ever before.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                 [From the Public's Radio Jan. 5, 2022]

      `We have to be there': AP Photographer Recalls Capitol Siege

                        (By Scott J. Applewhite)

       When the U.S. Capitol came under siege a year ago, 
     Associated Press photographer J. Scott Applewhite was in the 
     House chamber. In some respects he was the eyes of the world. 
     All these months later, he is still processing the events of 
     Jan. 6 as a photojournalist and as an American. When he 
     thinks about it, Applewhite's ultimate assessment is this: 
     The job of the photojournalist, is to show people what they 
     can't see on their own. And to do that, journalists have to 
     be there--as he was.
       Washington (AP).--The U.S. Capitol was under siege. By 
     Americans.
       It was Jan. 6, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington, and 
     Associated Press photographer J. Scott Applewhite was in the 
     middle of it all--and was the eyes of the world in some 
     respects. His camera recorded images that we are still gazing 
     at today.
       Here, he remembers some moments that stood out to him--
     moments that, so many months later, he is still processing as 
     a photojournalist and as an American.
       ``The Capitol has been breached!'' the Capitol Police 
     officer shouted to lawmakers. Tear gas was in the Rotunda. 
     ``Get out your escape hoods and prepare to evacuate!'' the 
     officer said.
       Glass was breaking in the main door to the chamber of the 
     House of Representatives--the very door where you see the 
     president enter for the State of the Union address. Quickly, 
     the police and a few lawmakers grabbed benches and cabinets 
     and barricaded the door.
       From the officers came loud commands: Evacuate. Now. 
     Stragglers were not tolerated--members of Congress, staffers, 
     journalists, all.
       But the move to safety was not immediate. Because they 
     didn't know what was on the other side of the door.
       You could hear the growl of the mob just outside. In the 
     chamber, the officers were focused, their guns aimed. And I 
     was trained on the door as well--with a telephoto zoom.
       It was pretty sure I was right where I was supposed to be. 
     I kept my lens focused on that reinforced door. Then: There 
     was an eye, trying to see inside--the face of one of the 
     rioters wearing a Trump hat. What he did not see were the 
     guns aiming inches from his face.
       I kept steady and held tight on that spot.
       When the breach of the Capitol was announced and evacuation 
     began, it was a chaotic and uncertain process. Evacuate to 
     where? The mob was on the other side of the doors.
       Eventually, the officers announced that tear gas had been 
     deployed in the nearby Rotunda. All were instructed to don 
     escape hoods that were stashed under the seats. That was part 
     of the preparedness in the

[[Page S438]]

     wake of 9/11. I didn't put one on because I needed to see to 
     use my camera.
       After the evacuation order came, AP photographer Andy 
     Harnik lingered and took many important images: lawmakers 
     taking cover, and Capitol Police holding rioters at gunpoint.
       Andy and I were both in the balcony that overlooks the 
     House chamber. Andy had been on a side where some members of 
     Congress were watching and the police presence was plentiful. 
     I had been on the opposite side with about 30 reporters and 
     photographers. The officers eventually pushed everyone out.
       Andy must have been among the last. He said the final frame 
     he shot in the chamber was one of me sitting alone in the 
     House press gallery. Andy caught the terror in the faces of 
     elected members of Congress as they dived for cover. When 
     police rushed the members out, Andy kept his camera up, 
     capturing rioters held at gunpoint by tactical officers 
     outside the chamber.
       The Capitol is where I work every day, and I am a familiar 
     face to most police. When those on the chamber floor shouted 
     up at me to get out, I told them I was fine and refused to 
     leave. This is what we do: We stay and report.
       One got more belligerent until another officer, a special 
     agent in the protection division who guards the leadership, 
     intervened. He shouted over, ``Scotty's OK!'' Two words is 
     all it took (that and the obvious--they had their hands full 
     with a mob on the other side of door).
       The officer, in plain clothes, was Lt. Michael Byrd. 
     Moments later, outside the House chamber, he shot and killed 
     protester Ashli Babbitt as she climbed through a broken 
     window of a barricaded door leading to the Speaker's Lobby.
       From that point on, I was the only journalist and the only 
     person remaining in the balcony to witness the standoff in 
     the House chamber.
       When the mob began to break the glass in the door, I could 
     barely see the face of one of the rioters. The cops and a new 
     congressman with a law enforcement background tried to de-
     escalate the situation even as guns were pointed at the hole 
     in the glass.
       The room was pretty dark. I was looking through a long zoom 
     lens usually used outdoors for shooting sports or wildlife. I 
     had brought it along for a little extra reach--closeups of 
     faces and details during Electoral College voting, which is 
     normally illuminated with TV lights.
       The siege at the chamber door lasted about 45 minutes, 
     until tactical units moved the intruders away. I was then 
     able to move around the balcony above the House floor to 
     record the deserted room and the debris. The gavel used by 
     House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat on the dais, surrounded by 
     discarded emergency escape hoods and debris.
       After the lawmakers and press evacuated, those doors were 
     secured. For another two hours, I was locked in. Then an FBI 
     tactical team swept through and threw me out of the building.
       The joint session of the House and Senate resumed about 9 
     p.m. Andy Harnik and I persevered through the night and 
     finished about 3 a.m. I went back to my office in the Senate 
     Dirksen building, ate some soup and slept from 5 to 7 a.m. 
     Then we started the next day's coverage.
       The news went on, as it always does.
       People have given me a lot of applause in the past year for 
     what I did on Jan. 6, 2021, for the photos I took, for 
     refusing to leave during the final evacuation. But I want to 
     make one thing clear: I was simply doing my job. As were many 
     of my colleagues.
       AP photographers John Minchillo and Julio Cortez suffered 
     the brunt of the riot as they bravely threw themselves 
     between the mob and the police. Manny Ceneta maneuvered his 
     way around the Senate side of the Capitol to capture Trump 
     supporters as they were stopped outside the chamber. 
     Freelancer Jose Luis Magana took the photos of demonstrators 
     scaling the wall of the west side of the Capitol. Jacquelyn 
     Martin and Carolyn Kaster were also at the Trump rally and 
     the march to the hill.
       I was working directly with Washington photo editor Jon 
     Elswick, who expedited my photos to the wire. Jon was patient 
     with me because I was sending lots of pictures in a short 
     time. This is usually not good form; we normally use judgment 
     and discretion in how many we send in a short time so that 
     the photo desk isn't overwhelmed.
       In this case, I told Jon I was going to move as much as I 
     could. Why? My previous experience in conflict zones and 
     working around the military and police reminded me that my 
     cameras might be destroyed by the mob or my disks confiscated 
     by police. The ability to transmit from the camera ensured 
     that the AP--and the world--would get the photos.
       The fact is, I never really came face to face with the mob, 
     except through a telephoto lens. And it really did take every 
     one of us to record this story. Most of us in the Capitol 
     that day--Getty, Reuters, AFP and others--couldn't move 
     around without interference from the mob or the Capitol 
     Police. Each of us covered what we could.
       The result, if you will, was like a mosaic--views from 
     different photographers all around the Capitol that composed 
     a more complete picture.
       I've witnessed plenty of violence and upheavals before, 
     coups and revolutions, when I was doing conflict coverage 
     abroad, but I am still shocked to experience it here. It was 
     Americans attacking America.
       What I saw, and what my camera captured, during the 
     standoff at the House chamber a year ago was this: a place 
     where a line was drawn--with courage, duty and guns.
       And though they ultimately failed, in a very real way the 
     rioters succeeded. It was an hour of anarchy, with an 
     unchecked mob bringing one of the country's most sacred 
     ceremonies--and the peaceful transfer of power--to a 
     screeching, scary halt.
       I often think about what might have happened if Pelosi had 
     not called the Electoral College back immediately. Postponing 
     a few days might have seemed the normal thing, but that 
     didn't happen. The rioters had mostly escaped the police. 
     Donald Trump was still in the White House for two more weeks. 
     Jan. 6 was one of the longest days in our short American 
     history. Imagine how long 14 more days might have been.
       I've been at this a while, and I've learned: Some moments 
     are hard to look at and some are hard to look away from. But 
     whatever the moment might be, the job of the 
     photojournalist--the responsibility--is to show people what 
     they can't see on their own.
       To do that, we have to be there.

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