What was revealed on Tuesday left many officers in the audience in Congress very upset.
"Most of what I hear is shocking to me," Metro Police Officer Daniel Hodges told reporters outside the committee hearing room on Tuesday. "I mean, hearing that he essentially set us up, yeah, that's shocking."
Hutchinson explained that the assistant director of the Secret Service told the former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, in front of her, that many attendees of the "Stop the Steal" rally were armed. The Secret Service chief, Anthony Ornato, said that he had told the president as well. According to Hutchinson, Trump explained that all people with weapons should be allowed in because "they're not here to hurt me," implying they were prepared to hurt someone else.
It's a federal offense to have weapons on federal government land, like the White House grounds and the monuments. The Secret Service didn't arrest anyone, however.
The hearings also revealed that at no point did the president put forth any effort to call for help for the Capitol Police or D.C Metro officers. The one who actually called and dispatched the National Guard to the Capitol was Vice President Mike Pence. After it became clear that the local law enforcement was overwhelmed and Trump wasn't going to send help, Washington, D.C. mayor asked for Virginia and Maryland to send their Guard soldiers. The governors rushed to help the city, which isn't an actual state, and thus can't do much without an act of Congress.
"When I realized that he didn't call in any reinforcements. He didn't want the riot to stop. Actually, he orchestrated this entire thing. He was actually trying to, you know, overthrow the government so that he could stay in power," said Garza. "That's when it really hit me. And that's when the anger really started to boil up within me. And I was like, yeah, I actually can't stand this guy and you know, I hold him responsible for Brian's passing."
"That is very upsetting. I mean, I’m not surprised," Garza continued. "I mean, my mouth dropped. My jaw dropped. It shouldn’t be shocking by now. But it still is unbelievable that he was the President of the United States at the time and made an order like that."
She also explained that Trump has talked more about Ashley Babbitt than Sicknick. Babbitt broke through locked doors outside of the Speaker's lobby, which is just off the House floor. An agent shot and killed her as she tried to climb through the broken-out window. Garza said she's not sure she's ever heard Trump mention Sicknick's name.
"It's very painful given that Brian and I were supporters of him at the time and particularly Brian. Brian's was a big supporter of Donald Trump even more so than me," Garza said.
"I have empathy for Ashley Babbitt’s family. I know they experienced a lot of pain and grief just like I did. But at the same time, I also have a lot of empathy for the officer who was put in that position to have to make that call to protect the members of Congress," she said. "I mean, it's not easy for an officer to have to make that terrible decision. I think a lot of people who are not in law enforcement don't understand that it's incredibly traumatic."
She went on to say that she wants to see Attorney General Merrick Garland do more and for Trump to face criminal charges.
"Do I think he's (Attorney General Garland) doing enough? No, I don't. I would like to think that after this, there will be something done," Garza said. "I don't know why it's taking so long. It seems like it's moving at a snails pace. Trump and all these people that have enabled Trump, it's like they've gotten away with murder and they continue to get away with murder. And, you know, the average Joe or Jane you know, we would have been in prison by now. So what's different here?"
Read the full interview at WUSA and see the video report below -- or at this link.
