January 6 Mob Got Within 40 Feet Of Pence, Who Refused to Be Evacuated For World to See

Greg Jacob, Vice President Mike Pence’s general counsel, testified before the Jan. 6 Committee hearing on Thursday that Pence refused to leave the U.S. Capitol despite the danger to his life because of the message it would send internationally about the state of U.S. democracy.

“Approximately 40 feet, that’s all there was. 40 feet between the vice president and the mob. Mr. Jacob, you were there. Seeing that for the first time. Does it surprise you to see how close the mob was to the evacuation route? 40 feet is the distance from me to you roughly,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) to Jacob.

“Make no mistake about the fact that the vice president’s life was in danger. A recent court filing by the Department of Justice explains that a confidential informant from the Proud Boys told the FBI that the Proud Boys would have killed Mike Pence if given a chance,” Aguilar added, before playing a clip.

“The select committee obtained never before seen photos from the National Archives that show Vice President Pence sheltering in a secure underground location as rioters overtook the Capitol. Mike Pence is seen looking at a tweet the president just sent, a tweet asking the rioters to leave the Capitol,” the clip’s narrator said.

“After 4 1/2 hours spent on working to restore order, the vice president turned to the Senate floor to continue the certification of electors,” the narrator concluded.

“Vice President Pence was a focus of the violent attack. Mr. Jacob, did the vice president leave the capitol complex during the attack?” Aguilar asked.

“He did not,” replied Jacob.

“Can you please explain why he refused to leave the capitol complex?” Aguilar followed up.

“When we got down to the secure location, secret service directed us to get in to the cars, which I did.

And then I noticed the vice president had not. So I got out of the car that I had gotten into,” Jacob replied.

“I understood that the vice president had refused to get into the car. The head of his secret service detail, Tim, had said that ‘I assure you we’re not going to drive out of the building without your permission,’” he added.

“The vice president said something to the effect of Tim, I know you, I trust you but you’re not the one behind the wheel. The vice president did not want to take any chance that the world would see the vice president of the United States fleeing the U.S. Capitol,” he explained, adding:

He was determined to complete the work that we had set out to do that day, that it was his Constitutional duty to see through. The rioters that had breached the capitol would not have the satisfaction of disrupting the proceedings beyond the day on which they were supposed to be completed.

Watch the full clip above via Fox News