Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was told a Capitol rioter called him "the big Jew" while pursing him during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.
Schumer’s comments came in a speech on the Senate floor on Thursday, marking the first anniversary of the riot, according to The Washington Post.
"I was within 30 feet of these nasty, racist, bigoted insurrectionists," Schumer said. "Had someone had a gun, had two of them blocked off the door, who knows what would have happened. I was told later that one of them reportedly said, 'There’s the big Jew; let’s get him.'"
According to The Hill, Schumer added: "Bigotry against one is bigotry against all. And I saw something that I had been told later never happened before, the Confederate flag flying in this dear Capitol. That's just one of many searing, grotesque images of that unimaginable, most un-American day."
Schumer, who was on the Senate floor when the Capitol was breached, also recalled the evacuation, the news outlet noted.
"A police officer in a big flak jacket and large rifle grabbed me firmly by the collar, like this, I'll never forget that grip, and said to me, 'Senator, we got to get out of here. You're in danger.' We walked out the Senate chamber door, made a right turn, went through another door," Schumer said.
He also talked of his desire to move forward from the riot.
"The only way we'll truly move forward from Jan. 6 is by speaking to power," he said. "We cannot avoid it. The truth about what happened that day, about what led to the violence, about what it means for our democracy moving forward.
"I say this because too many, often, depending on their allegiances, seem desperate to sweep the memory of Jan. 6 under the rug. Too many are working to rewrite the history of what happened."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.