Jan. 6 Panel Draws Laughter With Footage of Hawley

On the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, GOP Sen. Josh Hawley famously made a fist—an apparent show of solidarity—toward protesters outside the Capitol. The gesture "riled up" the crowd, a Capitol Police officer told the Jan. 6 House panel, per NBC News. In fact, barriers outside the building were soon breached, leading to a flood of people descending on the Capitol. At Thursday night's hearing, the panel played video of Hawley later running to safety within the Capitol after the mob entered the building, notes the Hill. "The committee room burst into laughter at the sight of Hawley sprinting out of danger in the Capitol after riling up the crowd himself earlier in the day," writes Carl Hulse in the New York Times. (More Jan. 6 hearings stories.)