A Jan. 6 attacker on Tuesday appeared before an informal committee hearing with lawmakers who previously served on the House Select Committee that investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
There were no official events by the GOP-led Congress to memorialize the events of 2021. Trump met privately with the Republican caucus at the Kennedy Center.
Pam Hemphill spoke to the panel of lawmakers on Tuesday, she was among those who raced to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 because she believed the conspiracy that the 2020 election was "stolen" from Donald Trump.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) began his questioning by asking why she refused to accept the pardon given to her by President Donald Trump in his second administration. Raskin pointed out that pardons are generally reserved for those who are "contrite" and show remorse and accountability. Hemphill, he said, is one of the very few who express regret.
Raskin asked why she didn't accept the pardon and she said, "I do not deserve a pardon for what I did on Jan. 6. I deserve to finish my sentence. I broke the law. To me, taking a pardon would be a slap in the Capitol Police's face. It was wrong that day."
"I'm sorry. I'm angry," she paused at one point.
Raskin went on to talk about some of the harassment she's experienced from the MAGA community for accepting responsibility for her actions and refusing the pardon.
"I don't care," she said about being targeted by MAGA. "I'm gonna keep speaking out."
Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calf.) began his questions by asking if Hemphill believes in God and considers herself a God-fearing person. She agreed to both. He then asked why she came to Washington on Jan. 6.
"I believed that the election had been stolen," she confessed. She noted that until then, she had never been involved in politics.
He, too, asked why she refused the pardon, and Hemphill said, "It was a lie. This was an insurrection. I broke the law."
Hemphill then revealed that at one point she had to rely on the Capitol Police because she ended up being knocked down and was being trampled.
"The crowd had knocked me down in front of another officer, stepped on my head, pulled my shoulder, cut my knee, and broke my glasses. I was not breathing. If it hadn't been for the Capitol Police officers, I would have died," she said.
"They saved those inside the Capitol and rioters like me," she added.
"I point the finger to everything to Trump," she said about the attack.
She served 60 days in prison for her role on Jan. 6.
