In a hearing on the January 6th Capitol Assault, DC Capitol police officer Daniel Hodges testified before Congress about the immense presence of religious imagery.
After much controversy, Congress has formed the select committee to investigate what happened during the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. On Tuesday, the committee hosted their first hearing, featuring testimonies from several officers on-site during the assault alongside new footage revealing what occurred.
While the officers described the horrible state of events that day, a few critical comments stood out. Most notably was a statement from D.C. Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges.
According to Hodges, he observed several Christian symbols and flags among the crowd assaulting the Capitol. "The sea of people was punctuated throughout by flags. Mostly variations of American flags and Trump flags. There were Gadsden flags. It was clear that the terrorists perceived themselves to be Christians. I saw the Christian flag directly to my front, and another had 'Jesus is my savior, Trump is my president.' Another, 'Jesus is king,'"
Hodges also noted the Thin Blue Line flag, a symbol often used to express support for local law enforcement during the Black Lives Matters protests. Hodges said that he was confused to see the flag carried by the "terrorists" who assaulted the Capitol. At the same time, "They ignored our commands and continued to assault us."
Hodges also claimed that many of those in the January 6th mob requested that law enforcement not fight them because they were not Black Lives Matter, "as if political affiliation is how we determine when to use force,"
Other notable events mentioned during the hearing were several officers being called racist slurs. Others said that they had been beaten and knocked unconscious during the events of that day.