Democrats have started a support group of dozens of lawmakers in the six months since the Capitol riot where there have been 'a lot of tears' and a 'lot of anger'
- Democrats have formed a support group of dozens of lawmakers in the six months since the Capitol riot
- CBS This Morning reported that the group started out as a text chain by Rep. Pramila Jayapal and then turned into a full-fledged group
- 'There were a lot of tears, there was a lot of anger,' Rep. Susan Wild said describing conversations among lawmakers
Democrats have formed a support group of dozens of lawmakers in the six months since the Capitol riot where there have been 'a lot of tears' and a 'lot of anger' expressed, one congresswoman said.
CBS This Morning reported Tuesday - the day that marks since months since the attack - on the group that originally started as a text chain run by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, of members who had been trapped in the House gallery on January 6.
It later became a full-fledged support group of two dozen Democratic lawmakers.
'There were a lot of tears, there was a lot of anger,' Rep. Susan Wild, a Pennsylvania Democrat, told CBS.
SIX MONTHS LATER: Two dozen Democratic lawmakers have formed a support group in the aftermath of January 6 including (clockwise from upper left) Reps. Susan Wild, Jason Crow, Veronica Escobar and Pramila Jayapal
This image of Rep. Jason Crow comforting Rep. Susan Wild during the January 6 MAGA attack went viral
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (second from left) is seen taking cover as pro-Trump rioters broke into the U.S. Capitol on the day Congress was certifying the election of President Joe Biden
Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat, said after January 6 she was having a hard time coping.
'I was having some very violent nightmares. that were deeply disturbing,' Escobar recalled.
Beyond talking to her Congressional peers, Escobar also said she's speaking with a therapist.
'That has helped me tremendously,' she said. 'It is important to share with people that trauma takes a toll and that there is help out there. There is no shame in asking for help,' Escobar said.
Wild, who lost her partner to suicide in 2019, talked about how the insurrection attempt prompted her to work through that loss as well.
'I lost my life partner to suicide just about two years ago,' Wild said. 'I had thought I was past the hardest part of that. What I found out after this, was that I hadn't even begun to deal with that.'
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In one viral image from January 6, Wild was seen gasping on the floor of the House gallery and being comforted by Rep. Jason Crow, who's also in the Democrats' support group.
'I think I started to have a panic attack. Jason reached out took my hand and started to comfort me, that I'll never forget, on his part,' Wild recounted.
She said looking at the image still makes her 'choked up.'
Crow, a former Army Ranger, said the MAGA attack brought him back to his military days 'of being ready to fight and do whatever ncesssary to get us out.'
Supporters of former President Donald Trump broke into the Capitol Building on January 6 as Congress was certifying the election win of President Joe Biden
Jayapal told CBS that the group of Democrats have also talked about the racial dynamics that played out during the attack.
'That was the first time in my life that me, personally, was on the receiving end of the violence of racism in our country,' said Crow, who is white. 'And since that, it has allowed me to understand it in a more visceral sense.'
Jayapal, who is Indian-American, recalled how some of her peers encouraged lawmakers to take their Congressional pins off, so they couldn't be targeted by the rioters.
But Jayapal said for lawmakers of color, there were concerns they wouldn't be recognized by Capitol Police.
'Do you want to be recognized by the insurrectionists? Or what happens if you take it off and you're not recognized by Capitol Police?' she explained were members' thought processes during the attack.
'And so there were these beautiful moments in the group where there was a recognition of an experience that we didn't have,' she added.
