Texas Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson Recounts January 6 Attack: 'Like a Real War'

Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) recalled when the January 6 Capitol rioters made her feel like she was experiencing something similar to a "war."

Speaking with The Grio, the 85-year-old lawmaker said she hurried back to her office after voting to confirm then-President-elect Joe Biden's election win.

Rep. Johnson told the outlet she left the House floor as she was vulnerable to COVID-19, due to her age.

But, it was while making her return to her office that Rep. Johnson said she saw members of the Capitol riot mob climbing up the walls of the building.

Speaking with The Grio, Rep. Johnson said: "We saw a few people coming and then when we saw them scale the wall, we knew something was wrong.

"And I only encountered one who was just walking through the halls. And he looked lost and the halls were pretty clear. I asked if I could be of assistance so he said he was just looking around.

"He had gotten an all-expense-paid trip to Washington and he wanted to see what it looked like. So I told him to have a nice trip. But I went in my office and locked the door."

In a second interview with The Grio, Rep. Johnson said she saw rioters gather outside the Capitol building from her office window.

She said: "And all of a sudden, it went from 50 to 60 to hundreds and thousands. And so we stayed locked in that office."

Rep. Johnson later continued: "To see all of this, and people scaling the wall, and breaking windows, it looked like a real war attack.

"And so surely it did affect my staff and we were really in that office until three, four or five o'clock in the morning."

She finally reflected on the member of the riot she encountered and added: "It never occurred to me that he was a part of maybe a group coming to tear the place down."

Her comments come as the House select committee investigation into the January 6 riot at the Capitol started today, Tuesday.

Rep. Liz Cheney spoke after Democratic chairman Bennie Thompson and said the committee would seek to uncover the "objective truth."

She added: "The task of this committee will require persistence. We must issue and enforce subpoenas promptly. We must get to objective truth.

"We must overcome the many efforts we are already seeing to cover up and obscure facts."

The committee, made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, will examine evidence and decide whether to force former President Donald Trump to testify.

But, senior Republicans have hit out at the committee and their GOP colleagues, accusing it of already being biased against the former President.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) hit out at the committee on Twitter and said on Sunday: "Nancy Pelosi's sham 'commission' (consisting only of people who voted to impeach Trump)."

Cruz's message was accompanied by a GIF showing the Queen of Hearts from Disney's animated take on Alice in Wonderland, with her quote: Sentence First! Verdict afterward."

Newsweek has contacted Rep. Johnson for comment.