Watch: Mike Pence evacuated from US Capitol as rioters 'called for him to be hanged'

11 February 2021, 00:22 | Updated: 11 February 2021, 09:20

Capitol rioters called for Mike Pence to be hanged

This was the bone chilling moment US Vice President Mike Pence was ushered out of the Senate chamber as rioters called for him to be hanged.

Footage of the Vice President and his family being rushed out of the chamber as rioters got within 100 feet of him and his security detail was shared during the second day of Trump's Senate impeachment trial.

In the footage, the orange dot represents Pence, the red the rioters and the blue dot represents Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who distracted the rioters to draw them away from the Vice President.

The video was shared as prosecutors seek to prove the former US President was not an “innocent bystander” but was the “inciter in chief” in the riot which ended in the deaths of five people.

The footage was timestamped at 2:26:02 pm.

Just two minutes earlier, at 2.24pm, Donald Trump had tweeted from the safety of the White House that his Vice President "didn't have the courage" to agree with him.

He wrote from his now-suspended Twitter account: "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!"

CCTV shows moment Mike Pence was evacuated from US Capitol

The Senate was told Pence was targeted by the rioters - who had refused to follow Trump's orders to subvert the results of the 2020 election - some of whom were calling for him to be hanged.

In video showed on Wednesday at Mr Trump's second impeachment trial, rioters chanted "Hang Mike Pence!" and "Bring out Pence!" as they roamed the halls searching for the former vice president and other politicians.

Outside, the mob set up a makeshift gallows on the field near the Capitol.

Rioters got as close as 100 feet to Mr Pence.

House impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett said: "You can hear the mob calling for the death of the vice president of the United States."

Also shown was the chilling moment a police officer raced to turn round a Republican Senator as a baying mob descended on the US Capitol during the 6 January riots.

Eugene Goodman was caught on CCTV racing towards Republican Senator Mitt Romney as rioters rushed the historic building.

Speaking after the footage was showed in the Senate, Mr Romney said it was his first time seeing it and told reporters: “I look forward to thanking him."

Representative Jamie Raskin, the lead House impeachment manager presenting the case against Mr Trump, began the day's proceedings by introducing a more than 10-minute-long video timeline of the day.

It began with Mr Trump's speech at a January 6 rally by the White House in which he tells the crowd, "We're going to walk down to the Capitol", and it included the crowd marching to the building.

That video was juxtaposed with what was happening inside the building as politicians were preparing to certify Joe Biden's victory.

The footage included some of the more well-known pieces of video from the day: Mr Trump saying "We will stop the steal".

In other parts, the footage focused on jarring images of rioters confronting police: yelling epithets, throwing objects and pushing past barricades and outnumbered Capitol Police.