"I felt like I was losing oxygen and I remember thinking: this is how I'm going to die, defending this entrance."
That was assured by Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, of the Capitol Police, as he told during an emotional testimony this Tuesday at the beginning of the investigation into the violent insurrection that occurred on January 6.
Followers of former president Donald Trump crushed him as he fought for his life, he recalled.
Despite the fact that until now details of what happened were known, never until today have the officers present there offered such a direct and personal account of the attacks they suffered, what they thought and the trauma that remains since that day.
Gonell and three other officers recalled what happened.
Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, an officer of the Capitol Police, this Tuesday after offering his testimony.
AP
"I was beaten and accused of being a traitor. I was in danger of having my own gun taken from me and used to kill me while hearing shouts of 'kill him with your own gun.'
I can still hear those words," added Officer Michael Fanone , from the Washington, DC Police Department
Fanone also referred to those Republican congressmen who object to this in fact happening: "The indifference that has been shown to my colleagues is outrageous, a disgrace. Nothing has prepared me to refer to those elected members of Congress who continue to deny the seriousness of what happened that day, and by doing so they betray their oath to the country. "
[Assault on the Capitol: a dramatic 4 hour timeline in 4 minutes]
"Those who entered shouted: Trump sent us"
During his testimony, Gonell added that those who managed to breach security and enter the Capitol violently, shouted: "Trump sent us, choose the right side, we want Trump."
Officers Aquilino Gonell, Michael Fanone, Daniel Hodges, and Harry Dunn during their testimony. AP
Officers Daniel Hodges and Harry Dunn also described how they wore hats and shirts that displayed Trump 2020 messages:
"We are here to stop the robbery. Jesus is my savior and Trump is my president."
Dunn held the former president directly responsible for what happened, saying: "A thug sent them."
The four officers who spoke on Tuesday in front of the panel asked for a thorough investigation of what happened.
"Find the truth," they insisted.
With information from AP and MSNBC.