September 24, 2025 • 34 mins
Recorded September 23, 2025 I sat down with my childhood friend Laura Hoffman and her friend Shannon Miller to talk about January 6th at the U.S. Capitol — not what the headlines said, but what they actually saw. From packed subway rides and peaceful crowds singing YMCA, to missing porta-potties, no cell service, and two mysterious vans with covered license plates. Their eyewitness account raises questions about what we were told versus what really happened. We also talk about the bigger impact: how faith shaped their perspective that day, why the media narrative didn’t add up, and what’s still missing in the official story. Whether you believe you know everything about J6 or not, this conversation will make you stop and think.
👉 Watch, listen, and decide for yourself.
#J6 #WhatReallyHappened #Eyewitness #Truth #Faith #PoliticsPodcast #USCapitol #WashingtonDC #TrumpRally #UntoldStory #PoliticalDiscussion #NewsAndPolitics #january6th @DonaldJTrumpforPresident @RealCharlieKirk @turningpointusa @WhiteHouse
Chapters
00:00 Reconnecting and Backgrounds 02:47 The January 6th Event: Initial Thoughts 05:41 The Atmosphere at the Rally 08:18 Expectations and Intentions 11:06 The March to the Capitol 14:01 The Shift in Energy 16:40 Observations on the Subway 19:48 The Aftermath and Reflections 22:23 Media Perception and Personal Insights 25:01 The Impact of January 6th 27:46 Current Events and Future Outlook 30:34 Concluding Thoughts and Reflections
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:48):
All right, so we're here today with my childhood friend, Laura Hoffman, which I'm alwaysgonna call you.
um I think we went, what, how many years without speaking?
Like 30 years without speaking and then found each other on Facebook again and now here weare talking politics.
(01:09):
Who would have thought?
And we have Shannon Miller, who is Laura's friend.
And how do you two know each other?
school moms.
Yeah, yeah, we homeschooled our kids together when I was in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Wow, okay.
All right, so Laura, why don't you tell everybody what you do?
Just give them a little synopsis.
(01:31):
Sure, I'm an assistive technology specialist at a university in Missouri.
I help students with disabilities through the use of technology.
Wonderful.
Shannon.
data broker, I report on people's liens and judgments, they end up on credit reports.
Okay, all right, so we are gonna talk about January 6th today and I know that Laura, youand I have talked about this before and this is something that you've wanted to get out
(02:01):
because obviously the controversy of everything going on and you being there is aneyewitness, you you wanna tell your story.
So what initially drew you two to going to this January 6th event, probably knowing
that something was gonna happen based on the way the world was that day.
(02:25):
think we thought something good was going to happen.
We were excited to be a part of it, know, just being a person amongst the group to say,hey, you know, things aren't the way that they should be.
Something went wrong.
There's some injustice here and we just want to be, part of it.
(02:50):
And so Shannon and I decided to meet up.
brought two other girlfriends from Missouri and we and Shannon came down from Pennsylvaniaand we met in DC.
Yeah, I had listened to the around Thanksgiving.
The Pennsylvania Senate had had some hearings and it became quite obvious in the course ofthose hearings that there are people that they had as witnesses were very viable and that
(03:17):
there was really some shenanigans going on.
And I just felt called to go down and just pray over the area.
And that was the moment to do it.
Okay, all right, so let's walk us through that day.
So you get into DC and what happens?
Well, just basically the subway ride in was packed, really packed.
(03:39):
But you kind of anticipate that when you're going to an event like this.
We got there early.
The whole crowd was sort of walking in the general direction of the ellipse.
There were people laughing, joking, carrying banners, pulling suitcases and coolers withstuff in them, know, water and what have you.
It was very
Trump supporters?
(04:01):
think mostly on the way in, but when you got to the ellipse, there were some people whowere, you know, there were some people and we were joking around.
It's a jovial mood.
We're like, Hey, there's a fed over there.
Do see that guy right there with the buzzy haircut and the khaki shorts and the poloshirt?
You like you could, you could spot them in the crowd, but nobody really paid them muchattention.
(04:27):
We expected to have some.
Yeah.
But there was no opposition.
There was nobody screaming at us to not be there or, you know, anything anti-Trump.
It was a lot of folks just gathering together to stand up to say, you know, something'snot right.
And we walked peacefully.
(04:49):
We made new friends and chatted and sang YMCA together
and just were
(05:10):
part of this big collection of like-minded people, at least that's what we thought.
There were a bunch of people.
sorry, how early did you get there before the actual rally started?
great question.
Early enough that I was freezing by the time that it started.
I mean, it was cold.
(05:32):
know that we were there at least a half an hour 45 minutes early and we just kept like thecrowd just kept pushing and pushing and pushing in and by the time we were you know pretty
much shoulder to shoulder bum to bum we were you know a little bit warmer but it was thething that I noticed most about it is that there was just such a mix of people the people
(05:52):
that were standing directly behind us very nice young woman black woman from somewhere inNew York City I don't remember which borough
and her husband, a Hispanic dude.
on the way in, there were some Chinese looking people handing out anti-CCP flyers.
it was just a very, very mixed bag crowd.
(06:14):
But it all seemed to be like we were all, as soon as we spoke to each other for a minute,we were all like, yep, yep, there was something shady about that.
Yeah, there was.
But everybody was happy and peaceful and just standing together.
I mean, there were people literally climbing the trees so that they could see what wasgoing on.
(06:37):
There were so many people.
from the Capitol are you at the rally?
20 feet back across the street from the ropes.
Yeah, but we were.
see the capital doors?
We had a straight shot from where we were to where we were going to be.
(06:59):
Like our plan was as soon as President Trump was done talking, we were going to make ourway to the Capitol.
So we positioned ourselves to be in the front of the crowd going to the Capitol.
And I bet we only made it halfway before the Capitol was breached.
(07:19):
I'm 100 % confident that
Whoever breached the Capitol was already there before Trump even finished speaking.
You couldn't have.
Yeah, they could not have heard him speak and then made it there in time to do what theydid.
How long did he speak?
(07:41):
Do you remember?
Yeah.
I joke because if he goes off a teleprompter or doesn't have a teleprompter, then you knowyou're going to be there for a while.
So settle in.
It's going to be a while.
You know what, we were so happy to be there that no matter how long he spoke, it wouldn'thave been enough, right?
(08:04):
Because we just wanted to be a part of it.
And there was nothing negative about what was being said or portrayed or how we werefeeling.
We were all just there for common purpose.
(08:31):
Okay, and then so people have said that, he started the insurrection.
He's the one, with his words and all of that.
How was his speech, throughout the whole time?
And how were people responding to it?
He was insistent that the members that were there were going to, stand up and say, okay,we need to investigate this more.
(08:53):
It was clear that he believed that that's what needed to happen.
And he did say, peacefully make your voices heard.
And he did also say at that point that he was gonna meet us down there.
which like even in my head, when he said it, I couldn't figure out how he was gonna getfrom place to place with all of his security and make that happen.
(09:15):
as we walked down, you could tell he was not gonna be able to make
It's funny when we got back to Virginia after being down in DC, the news reports weresaying that there were two or three thousand people in DC that day for the event.
And I will say in my life I've never seen so many people.
(09:37):
Like you would get to a four-way intersection and look down at the parallel streets.
and it was the same sea of people that we were standing in.
I mean just shoulder to shoulder all peacefully going,
there were just thousands and thousands of people out in that field behind us as well.
(10:00):
I mean, side to side to side to side.
the Washington Monument.
Yep.
have you ever been to, a political event like that before?
I went to the Trump rally in Erie
and I went to a McCain-Palin rally in Erie, which was nothing compared, but well, nothingto this magna.
(10:25):
Yeah.
So what were your expectations?
Like, so you go to the rally and then you said you were going to go to the Capitol.
What was the purpose of going to the Capitol?
Was that something that people would plan?
we could hear that they had decided to reject the ballots from Pennsylvania, was what Ithought was maybe happen.
(10:45):
But what I really, like I said before, what I really was intending to do is go touchearth, pray for safety for the people, pray that the right decisions would be made, pray
that there would be no violence, because there was a level of anticipation
from the chatter that was happening online, that there might be violence break out.
(11:09):
And I was really praying that there would just be peace, that everything would happen inthe constitutional manner, that our country would be able to pull it out and see that
there was shenanigans and deal with it appropriately.
And then I figured that the vote would take place maybe a couple of months down the roadwhen they figured out.
(11:31):
know, set of delegates to accept.
you're at the rally, Trump speaks, and then what happens?
the whole sea of people started moving toward the Capitol.
And by started moving, it's like you couldn't move for 20 minutes until people in front ofyou, behind you, managed to get out of there.
(11:54):
You know, all the footage you see people are rushing and screaming and, you know, pilingon top of each other.
We were in no hurry.
We were singing kumbaya and walking down the street.
There were people with box music, remember?
They had big speakers were playing it.
(12:18):
was more the sideshow of a parade kind of thing than.
anybody running or did you see anything like that at all?
The, I saw a few illegal things.
There was one person that got on the White House lawn, just one person They did one personand then.
(12:40):
We were walking along and on the right hand side, do you remember there was that guyscreaming that we were supposed to get angry?
And he had like a little table set up.
He was, get angry, fight, fight, fight.
And everybody was like, no, no, no, that's what they want us to do.
We're gonna stay calm, you know?
And I don't know who he was, but he was out of place.
(13:04):
Like he was there for nefarious reasons.
And then I think I...
told you the most illegal thing that I saw and I sent you a picture of it were threegentlemen that couldn't find a porta potty relieving themselves on a federal building.
Yeah.
Yeah, that was the most illegal thing I saw.
(13:24):
Huh?
about that.
So they knew this rally was going to happen.
And what did they set up for people that were going to be there?
So like I said, it was the most people I've ever seen in my life.
And we saw one porta potty on all of the walking that we did, all the areas we were in, wesaw one porta potty and unfortunately it was overflowing.
(13:47):
Yes.
And there was a line for that.
Yeah.
think that is, that probably is what held us up long enough that we missed anything at theCapitol steps.
Yes, possibly.
so the speech is over.
People start aiming towards the Capitol and then what happens?
(14:08):
There was at the Capitol ellipse, there was no service, no cell phone service at all.
None.
And as you got out, somebody in, I don't remember if they were in our group or in a groupthat was standing near ours waiting for the bathroom, somebody said, shots fired.
And we looked at each other and we're like, I didn't hear shots.
(14:32):
That's not right.
That's not right.
Fake news.
And then we heard the sirens start to come.
And Laura?
Yes, I.
many were there?
Like three, five?
I mean, it was just, and the crowd just broke for them when the cars came past.
Like everybody in a very orderly way, zooped out of the way, let them through.
(14:56):
It wasn't like a BLM riot where they were gonna roll them.
Right.
But we decided to immediately head back to the subway station because we figured we didn'tneed to be a part of whatever was going on and we just needed to get out of...
Well, we needed to get out of the way if, you know, the authorities are coming in to takecare of whatever they were coming to take care of.
(15:20):
We didn't need to be spectators getting in the way.
So we...
you see the capital?
Like, could you, could you, did you have a visual on it?
(15:40):
No, I don't know how close we even got to the Capitol.
several blocks away.
But just around the corner there was a train station, so we took the subway and headedout.
But as we were on the subway, I mean, we got to the subway as fast as we could.
And as we were on the subway, an alert came over our phone stating that the mayorimmediately shut down all public transportation.
(16:06):
So if we had not been on that subway, we would not have been able to get out of D.C.
I don't think people know that, you hear all of these people that got arrested forbreaking curfew and hanging out in the city because they were up to no good.
If you weren't on that last subway out, you weren't going to get out.
You couldn't have gotten out.
the train ride was quick, but on the train, there were a bunch of people who were all, youknow, just come from chitter-chattering about, you know, shots fired, what's going on,
(16:36):
blah, blah, blah, blah.
How do we get out of that?
And then there was, there were a handful of guys, maybe, eight to 10 of them who weredefinitely, they had the regalia, but they were not us.
You could just like,
you could spiritually sense that they were, we don't know who these guys are.
(16:58):
To the point at which when we got off at our stop, which was the end of the line, I wentto the station master or the, you know, the guy at the desk and I said, hey, there were
shots fired, there are things going on in the Capitol.
These guys that are on this train, this car, they're sus.
(17:21):
right.
Yeah, I mean, we're all chatting it up and wondering what's going on, happy to have heardTrump speak.
And this group of guys, they were stone-faced and didn't say a word.
They weren't even talking to each other.
And it was just quite odd.
and they were all, middle-aged or younger.
(17:43):
it was very odd there were no women in their group because a lot of the people werecouples, but to have eight to 10 people who were guys all together.
you saw them changing like by a van.
Yeah, so we got back to our vehicle and you know, we just want to get somewhere to figureout what had happened.
(18:06):
And we're going out of the parking garage and just right in the middle of where the carsshould be were these two huge Nissan conversion vans with the license plates covered over.
The guys are standing there changing clothes out of their Trump gear and putting onfatigues.
(18:32):
We have no idea why.
And I wish we would have taken pictures of that, but we were afraid.
We didn't know what was going on, right?
I mean, we know now that the Capitol was being breached and, you know, things got out ofhand, but we had no idea.
It could have
It could have been anything.
(18:53):
So we just wanted to get somewhere that made us feel safe and in middle of the parkinggarage wasn't it.
So.
uh
for women against 10 guys, that's not our goal either.
And then you were saying when you were pulling out of the parking garage.
Yeah, so was quite interesting.
So I'm driving, Shannon's in the passenger seat, and we get to the gate to exit theparking garage, and in the lane next to us are the two vans.
(19:23):
taking pictures with my camera because I want to get their plates.
Right, and I'm saying Shannon call 911, call 911.
At the same time I'm scanning my credit card to get us out of the garage because I want toget out of there and it would not work.
It wasn't telling me that my card was denied or anything, it just would not scan my card.
(19:45):
And I'm like somebody give me a card.
For whatever reason my card's not working and the other two ladies that are with us aredigging for a way to pay and
I said, there's something shady going on.
This is our location.
These are what we see these guys.
I'm trying to take a picture of the plates, but they had one of those, you know, the, thethings that you get for your license plates so that the, if you're going down the toll
(20:12):
road and they can't read your plate, like it's a camera, we could see their plates.
We could have memorized the numbers, but I thought I would get them on the photo.
didn't show up.
as soon as they are through the gate and across the intersection, my card worked.
they turned one way, we turned the other.
Which way did they turn like going back towards the Capitol or did they work, do you know?
(20:37):
Okay.
couldn't even tell you which way the capital was at that point.
Yeah but just the oddest thing you know why are they changing their clothes why do theyhave two matching vans why is it a bunch of men who are stone-faced not talking what what
were they doing who are they no idea yeah yep
(21:00):
Okay.
Yep.
The only one I heard say anything was the younger of the two guys that were close to us.
Shannon, do you remember?
Yeah.
And I couldn't tell you what he said, but I know he didn't have an accent.
I could tell you that much.
So what impact has that had on you?
(21:21):
And obviously, you know, going forward in especially now with in our political climate andrecent events that happened.
Well, I tell you what, I think the biggest thing for me is, you know, prior to that, I hadnews sources or a news source that I felt to be valid and I pretty much hung on every word
(21:45):
they said.
And I'm not that way as much anymore because everything that you hear is based on what wasseen at the Capitol.
Okay, this happened.
So it must be because, know, cause and effect.
Trump said something, this happened over here, and it couldn't have.
(22:09):
You know, those people could not have heard Trump speak and made it to the Capitol and didwhat they did.
It just couldn't have happened.
Could not have happened.
So I guess my biggest takeaway is to do your own research and don't believe anything.
or everything you hear.
Now Shannon is, has always been a researcher.
(22:32):
So.
I signed up to be a poll worker and I said no on my watch.
But I noticed some things there that were fairly janky and continue to be at least in mytown.
So, but I'm doing my part.
I think that the major news networks are all simultaneously gaslighting us and I don'ttrust it.
(22:56):
I just don't trust it.
I didn't trust it a lot then.
haven't had, you know, because homeschooling, having children, I haven't had televisionservice like cable at my house for.
more than 20 years.
So I don't have that to like lazily fall back on.
If I want to get news, I have to go and find it
(23:18):
was one of those oddities and I actually had cable when I homeschooled and satelliteradio.
I thought I was informed to get to DC on that day and not see any media sources anywhereand.
then get back to Alexandria and get the same news from all of the network.
(23:40):
see television cameras.
You didn't see any of that.
Not a single one.
everything on the on the online chatter was saying that it was going to be that there weregoing to be false flags beyond the lookout.
They were going to be fed in the crowd beyond the lookout.
BLM was expected to show up beyond the lookout.
Antifa was expected to be there beyond the lookout.
(24:04):
what they did have security wise, which generally speaking at a rally, their security thatyou can clearly see.
you know, with those shades, the earpieces, whatever.
But they did have people on the rooftops, like snipers on the rooftops, just in case,which valid, totally valid.
You need to keep people safe.
But yeah, there wasn't as much security at this where there were easily a million peopleas there were at the Trump rally in Erie, Pennsylvania.
(24:36):
And when was the Trump rally in Erie?
don't know, it was also cold.
So it would have been, um, that would have been probably...
Yeah.
Oh no, no, no, this is 2020.
of 2020.
So this would have been, yeah, would have been October, September or October.
Yeah.
So then that I mean that's interesting right there that you know they're on the roof atErie but nobody's on the roof at Butler.
(25:01):
No, well, hmm.
Yeah.
that you would notice that.
so I have to ask, obviously, because we're, almost two weeks out of Charlie's shooting,which affected me horribly.
And, I have my thoughts on everything, but I'd love to hear what you guys think.
I think it's interesting that they are collecting all of the data, all of the cameraimaging and things like that at the Charlie Kirk shooting, just like they were collecting
(25:29):
all of the data from the cell phones from people who went and were willing to turn it overas if the feds were the ones who were going to catalog it and collect it and
review it so that they can make us more safe.
Right, right.
So if you're gonna turn your phone over and you were at the Charlie Kirk shooting, pleasedownload that before you give it to the feds.
(25:56):
Exactly.
more positive note though, I'm excited for what's happening in the country because I thinkpeople, I'm praying that people are waking up.
I mean there may be a million people that would have never heard the gospel if it hadn'tbeen for this terrible thing that happened to Charlie Kirk.
(26:17):
So I'm not sure how it happened, why it happened, who made it happen.
I just know that what I saw yesterday was good coming out of the ashes.
And I don't know, I got goosebumps.
oh
that's one of the arguments that I just had because I saw someone post something about thefireworks there.
(26:41):
it doesn't look like they're selling merchandise, and it's a funeral.
And I had to go on and say, people that truly believe in God and truly live through theword of God don't view death as
I don't want to say it's not horrible, but they don't view death like some people do.
And, you like I was raised Catholic where, someone dies and it's debilitating and all ofthat, I remember when I went to my first Baptist funeral and it was music and dancing and
(27:10):
everybody's having fun and I was shocked.
like, I know what is happening here, but it's, it's the whole.
you're putting your faith in God, you are trusting that he is doing this for a reason andwe're gonna find out what that reason is.
And that's truly what everybody in that building was feeling and believes in.
And there's so many people that just don't understand that.
(27:34):
And I said,
everybody mourns in different ways.
Everybody, does funerals in different ways.
They do memorials in different ways.
And they choose to celebrate life and not death.
And, I guess I get why that's hard for some people to understand.
But I just kind of wish that, they would just kind of open their hearts more instead oflooking so surface level at it and it being this.
(27:57):
cult-like thing or hidden message type thing or something like that that is negative whenit just isn't.
um...
grieve as ones who have no hope.
And that's the long and the short.
Absent in the body is present with the Lord.
So, know, Charlie Kirk left this earth with blood coming out his neck and he walks onstreets of gold.
(28:25):
I mean, he doesn't, no more pain, no suffering.
So we don't want him to leave us.
But we absolutely don't want him to miss the destination.
Right.
And I think people that aren't, brothers and sisters in Christ may not understand it.
I know that people around me at work or whatnot are wondering why all of these people arestanding up for Charlie Kirk.
(28:56):
are all these people fans, why are they coming from Ireland and all over the globe forthis celebration of life?
And, I don't think I'll ever forget when I found out that he had gotten shot.
My spirit was connected to Charlie's because he's my brother in Christ.
(29:16):
And I feel like everyone
coming out and speaking up and embracing situations differently because our spirits aregrieving over the loss of a brother.
But we celebrate knowing that God's gonna use everything for good, right?
(29:36):
And Charlie's not in any pain.
Charlie's having a blast right now.
He's probably at a meet and greet up there, interviewing a bunch of people that he's, youknow.
thought about or taught about, I don't know, it was just uh a horrible thing that happenedand uh beauty's coming out of the ashes.
Yeah, and I think Trump felt that too when he was shot.
(30:01):
I was at the RNC and one of the things that I noticed immediately was...
he literally had a softness to him.
I know that he thinks that God saved him because He has a job to do.
I just, I really do hope that other people get that and understand that
try to embrace it.
(30:22):
I can personally say for myself that ever since I got the news about Charlie'sassassination, what am I supposed to do with this?
As I mentioned, I work on a college campus.
I'm like, I'm gonna start a turning point.
Wait a second.
That's not my gifting.
That's not what I'm supposed to do.
But I am waiting to hear from the Lord as to what I'm supposed to do with it, because Iknow that we're all supposed to learn something and do something.
(30:50):
And uh I can't wait to see what comes of it, because I think we're united as, Christiansto help in getting the good to come out of what has happened.
I agree.
I agree.
All right.
Well, do you ladies have anything else you would like to talk about?
(31:14):
Uh-oh.
the best part of being five-year-old Jenny Bash and my very best friend?
You want to know, and it's funny because, you know, when she did the, you know, I loveyou, And I literally started laughing when I saw that and I'm like, oh, I know what that
(31:35):
is, just of the sign language.
Yes, I can tell the story.
You remember it much better than me.
Yes, so in fourth grade we had an assignment that we had to go to the library and with apartner take out a book and learn something from the library.
So Jenny and I went and found books on how to fingerspell in sign language and thecreative mind that I am used it later on in the year.
(32:08):
Do you remember this?
Yes.
Yes, ingenious.
So in Mrs.
Weaver's class, we sat in a U and directly across from me is my best friend, Jenny, who'sa much better speller than I am.
And I held up my fingers to indicate that I didn't know how to spell the word for numberseven and that Jenny should spell it for me.
(32:34):
And I don't know if you did or not.
You probably didn't.
Okay, maybe.
I had to help you cheat.
I'm sorry.
Be creative.
I had to help you be creative.
oh I used to be good until menopause hit.
Now, now I'm screwed.
Yeah.
but you still didn't answer the question.
(32:54):
Was that the best thing?
Was cheating on spelling tests?
Oh, you know, our Barbie time was awesome.
That was like, I just remember Barbies in the house that your dad built for us.
that was just, that was, I mean, that was our life.
That was literally our life until we...
started out as Iron City beer cases sideways until us a bookshelf.
(33:18):
And then and then we got older we uh used to buy cigarettes and pretend to smoke and walkaround all the new home developments while our mothers used to climb through the windows
of the houses to go in and see what they look like before they were fully built.
Yes, well we did that too.
And then we'd kicked out of the house first thing in the morning, not able to come backhome until the lights were on and we'd go play kickball or baseball day down in the
(33:47):
cul-de-sac.
That was amazing.
As long as you didn't hit the Schaeffer's house.
They weren't happy about that.
Yep.
But it was a good childhood.
Yeah, it was fun for sure.
I appreciate you guys coming on
it was really great meeting you.
Thanks for having us on.
All right, so we're here today with my childhood friend, Laura Hoffman, which I'm alwaysgonna call you.
um I think we went, what, how many years without speaking?
Like 30 years without speaking and then found each other on Facebook again and now here weare talking politics.
(01:09):
Who would have thought?
And we have Shannon Miller, who is Laura's friend.
And how do you two know each other?
school moms.
Yeah, yeah, we homeschooled our kids together when I was in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Wow, okay.
All right, so Laura, why don't you tell everybody what you do?
Just give them a little synopsis.
(01:31):
Sure, I'm an assistive technology specialist at a university in Missouri.
I help students with disabilities through the use of technology.
Wonderful.
Shannon.
data broker, I report on people's liens and judgments, they end up on credit reports.
Okay, all right, so we are gonna talk about January 6th today and I know that Laura, youand I have talked about this before and this is something that you've wanted to get out
(02:01):
because obviously the controversy of everything going on and you being there is aneyewitness, you you wanna tell your story.
So what initially drew you two to going to this January 6th event, probably knowing
that something was gonna happen based on the way the world was that day.
(02:25):
think we thought something good was going to happen.
We were excited to be a part of it, know, just being a person amongst the group to say,hey, you know, things aren't the way that they should be.
Something went wrong.
There's some injustice here and we just want to be, part of it.
(02:50):
And so Shannon and I decided to meet up.
brought two other girlfriends from Missouri and we and Shannon came down from Pennsylvaniaand we met in DC.
Yeah, I had listened to the around Thanksgiving.
The Pennsylvania Senate had had some hearings and it became quite obvious in the course ofthose hearings that there are people that they had as witnesses were very viable and that
(03:17):
there was really some shenanigans going on.
And I just felt called to go down and just pray over the area.
And that was the moment to do it.
Okay, all right, so let's walk us through that day.
So you get into DC and what happens?
Well, just basically the subway ride in was packed, really packed.
(03:39):
But you kind of anticipate that when you're going to an event like this.
We got there early.
The whole crowd was sort of walking in the general direction of the ellipse.
There were people laughing, joking, carrying banners, pulling suitcases and coolers withstuff in them, know, water and what have you.
It was very
Trump supporters?
(04:01):
think mostly on the way in, but when you got to the ellipse, there were some people whowere, you know, there were some people and we were joking around.
It's a jovial mood.
We're like, Hey, there's a fed over there.
Do see that guy right there with the buzzy haircut and the khaki shorts and the poloshirt?
You like you could, you could spot them in the crowd, but nobody really paid them muchattention.
(04:27):
We expected to have some.
Yeah.
But there was no opposition.
There was nobody screaming at us to not be there or, you know, anything anti-Trump.
It was a lot of folks just gathering together to stand up to say, you know, something'snot right.
And we walked peacefully.
(04:49):
We made new friends and chatted and sang YMCA together
and just were
(05:10):
part of this big collection of like-minded people, at least that's what we thought.
There were a bunch of people.
sorry, how early did you get there before the actual rally started?
great question.
Early enough that I was freezing by the time that it started.
I mean, it was cold.
(05:32):
know that we were there at least a half an hour 45 minutes early and we just kept like thecrowd just kept pushing and pushing and pushing in and by the time we were you know pretty
much shoulder to shoulder bum to bum we were you know a little bit warmer but it was thething that I noticed most about it is that there was just such a mix of people the people
(05:52):
that were standing directly behind us very nice young woman black woman from somewhere inNew York City I don't remember which borough
and her husband, a Hispanic dude.
on the way in, there were some Chinese looking people handing out anti-CCP flyers.
it was just a very, very mixed bag crowd.
(06:14):
But it all seemed to be like we were all, as soon as we spoke to each other for a minute,we were all like, yep, yep, there was something shady about that.
Yeah, there was.
But everybody was happy and peaceful and just standing together.
I mean, there were people literally climbing the trees so that they could see what wasgoing on.
(06:37):
There were so many people.
from the Capitol are you at the rally?
20 feet back across the street from the ropes.
Yeah, but we were.
see the capital doors?
We had a straight shot from where we were to where we were going to be.
(06:59):
Like our plan was as soon as President Trump was done talking, we were going to make ourway to the Capitol.
So we positioned ourselves to be in the front of the crowd going to the Capitol.
And I bet we only made it halfway before the Capitol was breached.
(07:19):
I'm 100 % confident that
Whoever breached the Capitol was already there before Trump even finished speaking.
You couldn't have.
Yeah, they could not have heard him speak and then made it there in time to do what theydid.
How long did he speak?
(07:41):
Do you remember?
Yeah.
I joke because if he goes off a teleprompter or doesn't have a teleprompter, then you knowyou're going to be there for a while.
So settle in.
It's going to be a while.
You know what, we were so happy to be there that no matter how long he spoke, it wouldn'thave been enough, right?
(08:04):
Because we just wanted to be a part of it.
And there was nothing negative about what was being said or portrayed or how we werefeeling.
We were all just there for common purpose.
(08:31):
Okay, and then so people have said that, he started the insurrection.
He's the one, with his words and all of that.
How was his speech, throughout the whole time?
And how were people responding to it?
He was insistent that the members that were there were going to, stand up and say, okay,we need to investigate this more.
(08:53):
It was clear that he believed that that's what needed to happen.
And he did say, peacefully make your voices heard.
And he did also say at that point that he was gonna meet us down there.
which like even in my head, when he said it, I couldn't figure out how he was gonna getfrom place to place with all of his security and make that happen.
(09:15):
as we walked down, you could tell he was not gonna be able to make
It's funny when we got back to Virginia after being down in DC, the news reports weresaying that there were two or three thousand people in DC that day for the event.
And I will say in my life I've never seen so many people.
(09:37):
Like you would get to a four-way intersection and look down at the parallel streets.
and it was the same sea of people that we were standing in.
I mean just shoulder to shoulder all peacefully going,
there were just thousands and thousands of people out in that field behind us as well.
(10:00):
I mean, side to side to side to side.
the Washington Monument.
Yep.
have you ever been to, a political event like that before?
I went to the Trump rally in Erie
and I went to a McCain-Palin rally in Erie, which was nothing compared, but well, nothingto this magna.
(10:25):
Yeah.
So what were your expectations?
Like, so you go to the rally and then you said you were going to go to the Capitol.
What was the purpose of going to the Capitol?
Was that something that people would plan?
we could hear that they had decided to reject the ballots from Pennsylvania, was what Ithought was maybe happen.
(10:45):
But what I really, like I said before, what I really was intending to do is go touchearth, pray for safety for the people, pray that the right decisions would be made, pray
that there would be no violence, because there was a level of anticipation
from the chatter that was happening online, that there might be violence break out.
(11:09):
And I was really praying that there would just be peace, that everything would happen inthe constitutional manner, that our country would be able to pull it out and see that
there was shenanigans and deal with it appropriately.
And then I figured that the vote would take place maybe a couple of months down the roadwhen they figured out.
(11:31):
know, set of delegates to accept.
you're at the rally, Trump speaks, and then what happens?
the whole sea of people started moving toward the Capitol.
And by started moving, it's like you couldn't move for 20 minutes until people in front ofyou, behind you, managed to get out of there.
(11:54):
You know, all the footage you see people are rushing and screaming and, you know, pilingon top of each other.
We were in no hurry.
We were singing kumbaya and walking down the street.
There were people with box music, remember?
They had big speakers were playing it.
(12:18):
was more the sideshow of a parade kind of thing than.
anybody running or did you see anything like that at all?
The, I saw a few illegal things.
There was one person that got on the White House lawn, just one person They did one personand then.
(12:40):
We were walking along and on the right hand side, do you remember there was that guyscreaming that we were supposed to get angry?
And he had like a little table set up.
He was, get angry, fight, fight, fight.
And everybody was like, no, no, no, that's what they want us to do.
We're gonna stay calm, you know?
And I don't know who he was, but he was out of place.
(13:04):
Like he was there for nefarious reasons.
And then I think I...
told you the most illegal thing that I saw and I sent you a picture of it were threegentlemen that couldn't find a porta potty relieving themselves on a federal building.
Yeah.
Yeah, that was the most illegal thing I saw.
(13:24):
Huh?
about that.
So they knew this rally was going to happen.
And what did they set up for people that were going to be there?
So like I said, it was the most people I've ever seen in my life.
And we saw one porta potty on all of the walking that we did, all the areas we were in, wesaw one porta potty and unfortunately it was overflowing.
(13:47):
Yes.
And there was a line for that.
Yeah.
think that is, that probably is what held us up long enough that we missed anything at theCapitol steps.
Yes, possibly.
so the speech is over.
People start aiming towards the Capitol and then what happens?
(14:08):
There was at the Capitol ellipse, there was no service, no cell phone service at all.
None.
And as you got out, somebody in, I don't remember if they were in our group or in a groupthat was standing near ours waiting for the bathroom, somebody said, shots fired.
And we looked at each other and we're like, I didn't hear shots.
(14:32):
That's not right.
That's not right.
Fake news.
And then we heard the sirens start to come.
And Laura?
Yes, I.
many were there?
Like three, five?
I mean, it was just, and the crowd just broke for them when the cars came past.
Like everybody in a very orderly way, zooped out of the way, let them through.
(14:56):
It wasn't like a BLM riot where they were gonna roll them.
Right.
But we decided to immediately head back to the subway station because we figured we didn'tneed to be a part of whatever was going on and we just needed to get out of...
Well, we needed to get out of the way if, you know, the authorities are coming in to takecare of whatever they were coming to take care of.
(15:20):
We didn't need to be spectators getting in the way.
So we...
you see the capital?
Like, could you, could you, did you have a visual on it?
(15:40):
No, I don't know how close we even got to the Capitol.
several blocks away.
But just around the corner there was a train station, so we took the subway and headedout.
But as we were on the subway, I mean, we got to the subway as fast as we could.
And as we were on the subway, an alert came over our phone stating that the mayorimmediately shut down all public transportation.
(16:06):
So if we had not been on that subway, we would not have been able to get out of D.C.
I don't think people know that, you hear all of these people that got arrested forbreaking curfew and hanging out in the city because they were up to no good.
If you weren't on that last subway out, you weren't going to get out.
You couldn't have gotten out.
the train ride was quick, but on the train, there were a bunch of people who were all, youknow, just come from chitter-chattering about, you know, shots fired, what's going on,
(16:36):
blah, blah, blah, blah.
How do we get out of that?
And then there was, there were a handful of guys, maybe, eight to 10 of them who weredefinitely, they had the regalia, but they were not us.
You could just like,
you could spiritually sense that they were, we don't know who these guys are.
(16:58):
To the point at which when we got off at our stop, which was the end of the line, I wentto the station master or the, you know, the guy at the desk and I said, hey, there were
shots fired, there are things going on in the Capitol.
These guys that are on this train, this car, they're sus.
(17:21):
right.
Yeah, I mean, we're all chatting it up and wondering what's going on, happy to have heardTrump speak.
And this group of guys, they were stone-faced and didn't say a word.
They weren't even talking to each other.
And it was just quite odd.
and they were all, middle-aged or younger.
(17:43):
it was very odd there were no women in their group because a lot of the people werecouples, but to have eight to 10 people who were guys all together.
you saw them changing like by a van.
Yeah, so we got back to our vehicle and you know, we just want to get somewhere to figureout what had happened.
(18:06):
And we're going out of the parking garage and just right in the middle of where the carsshould be were these two huge Nissan conversion vans with the license plates covered over.
The guys are standing there changing clothes out of their Trump gear and putting onfatigues.
(18:32):
We have no idea why.
And I wish we would have taken pictures of that, but we were afraid.
We didn't know what was going on, right?
I mean, we know now that the Capitol was being breached and, you know, things got out ofhand, but we had no idea.
It could have
It could have been anything.
(18:53):
So we just wanted to get somewhere that made us feel safe and in middle of the parkinggarage wasn't it.
So.
uh
for women against 10 guys, that's not our goal either.
And then you were saying when you were pulling out of the parking garage.
Yeah, so was quite interesting.
So I'm driving, Shannon's in the passenger seat, and we get to the gate to exit theparking garage, and in the lane next to us are the two vans.
(19:23):
taking pictures with my camera because I want to get their plates.
Right, and I'm saying Shannon call 911, call 911.
At the same time I'm scanning my credit card to get us out of the garage because I want toget out of there and it would not work.
It wasn't telling me that my card was denied or anything, it just would not scan my card.
(19:45):
And I'm like somebody give me a card.
For whatever reason my card's not working and the other two ladies that are with us aredigging for a way to pay and
I said, there's something shady going on.
This is our location.
These are what we see these guys.
I'm trying to take a picture of the plates, but they had one of those, you know, the, thethings that you get for your license plates so that the, if you're going down the toll
(20:12):
road and they can't read your plate, like it's a camera, we could see their plates.
We could have memorized the numbers, but I thought I would get them on the photo.
didn't show up.
as soon as they are through the gate and across the intersection, my card worked.
they turned one way, we turned the other.
Which way did they turn like going back towards the Capitol or did they work, do you know?
(20:37):
Okay.
couldn't even tell you which way the capital was at that point.
Yeah but just the oddest thing you know why are they changing their clothes why do theyhave two matching vans why is it a bunch of men who are stone-faced not talking what what
were they doing who are they no idea yeah yep
(21:00):
Okay.
Yep.
The only one I heard say anything was the younger of the two guys that were close to us.
Shannon, do you remember?
Yeah.
And I couldn't tell you what he said, but I know he didn't have an accent.
I could tell you that much.
So what impact has that had on you?
(21:21):
And obviously, you know, going forward in especially now with in our political climate andrecent events that happened.
Well, I tell you what, I think the biggest thing for me is, you know, prior to that, I hadnews sources or a news source that I felt to be valid and I pretty much hung on every word
(21:45):
they said.
And I'm not that way as much anymore because everything that you hear is based on what wasseen at the Capitol.
Okay, this happened.
So it must be because, know, cause and effect.
Trump said something, this happened over here, and it couldn't have.
(22:09):
You know, those people could not have heard Trump speak and made it to the Capitol and didwhat they did.
It just couldn't have happened.
Could not have happened.
So I guess my biggest takeaway is to do your own research and don't believe anything.
or everything you hear.
Now Shannon is, has always been a researcher.
(22:32):
So.
I signed up to be a poll worker and I said no on my watch.
But I noticed some things there that were fairly janky and continue to be at least in mytown.
So, but I'm doing my part.
I think that the major news networks are all simultaneously gaslighting us and I don'ttrust it.
(22:56):
I just don't trust it.
I didn't trust it a lot then.
haven't had, you know, because homeschooling, having children, I haven't had televisionservice like cable at my house for.
more than 20 years.
So I don't have that to like lazily fall back on.
If I want to get news, I have to go and find it
(23:18):
was one of those oddities and I actually had cable when I homeschooled and satelliteradio.
I thought I was informed to get to DC on that day and not see any media sources anywhereand.
then get back to Alexandria and get the same news from all of the network.
(23:40):
see television cameras.
You didn't see any of that.
Not a single one.
everything on the on the online chatter was saying that it was going to be that there weregoing to be false flags beyond the lookout.
They were going to be fed in the crowd beyond the lookout.
BLM was expected to show up beyond the lookout.
Antifa was expected to be there beyond the lookout.
(24:04):
what they did have security wise, which generally speaking at a rally, their security thatyou can clearly see.
you know, with those shades, the earpieces, whatever.
But they did have people on the rooftops, like snipers on the rooftops, just in case,which valid, totally valid.
You need to keep people safe.
But yeah, there wasn't as much security at this where there were easily a million peopleas there were at the Trump rally in Erie, Pennsylvania.
(24:36):
And when was the Trump rally in Erie?
don't know, it was also cold.
So it would have been, um, that would have been probably...
Yeah.
Oh no, no, no, this is 2020.
of 2020.
So this would have been, yeah, would have been October, September or October.
Yeah.
So then that I mean that's interesting right there that you know they're on the roof atErie but nobody's on the roof at Butler.
(25:01):
No, well, hmm.
Yeah.
that you would notice that.
so I have to ask, obviously, because we're, almost two weeks out of Charlie's shooting,which affected me horribly.
And, I have my thoughts on everything, but I'd love to hear what you guys think.
I think it's interesting that they are collecting all of the data, all of the cameraimaging and things like that at the Charlie Kirk shooting, just like they were collecting
(25:29):
all of the data from the cell phones from people who went and were willing to turn it overas if the feds were the ones who were going to catalog it and collect it and
review it so that they can make us more safe.
Right, right.
So if you're gonna turn your phone over and you were at the Charlie Kirk shooting, pleasedownload that before you give it to the feds.
(25:56):
Exactly.
more positive note though, I'm excited for what's happening in the country because I thinkpeople, I'm praying that people are waking up.
I mean there may be a million people that would have never heard the gospel if it hadn'tbeen for this terrible thing that happened to Charlie Kirk.
(26:17):
So I'm not sure how it happened, why it happened, who made it happen.
I just know that what I saw yesterday was good coming out of the ashes.
And I don't know, I got goosebumps.
oh
that's one of the arguments that I just had because I saw someone post something about thefireworks there.
(26:41):
it doesn't look like they're selling merchandise, and it's a funeral.
And I had to go on and say, people that truly believe in God and truly live through theword of God don't view death as
I don't want to say it's not horrible, but they don't view death like some people do.
And, you like I was raised Catholic where, someone dies and it's debilitating and all ofthat, I remember when I went to my first Baptist funeral and it was music and dancing and
(27:10):
everybody's having fun and I was shocked.
like, I know what is happening here, but it's, it's the whole.
you're putting your faith in God, you are trusting that he is doing this for a reason andwe're gonna find out what that reason is.
And that's truly what everybody in that building was feeling and believes in.
And there's so many people that just don't understand that.
(27:34):
And I said,
everybody mourns in different ways.
Everybody, does funerals in different ways.
They do memorials in different ways.
And they choose to celebrate life and not death.
And, I guess I get why that's hard for some people to understand.
But I just kind of wish that, they would just kind of open their hearts more instead oflooking so surface level at it and it being this.
(27:57):
cult-like thing or hidden message type thing or something like that that is negative whenit just isn't.
um...
grieve as ones who have no hope.
And that's the long and the short.
Absent in the body is present with the Lord.
So, know, Charlie Kirk left this earth with blood coming out his neck and he walks onstreets of gold.
(28:25):
I mean, he doesn't, no more pain, no suffering.
So we don't want him to leave us.
But we absolutely don't want him to miss the destination.
Right.
And I think people that aren't, brothers and sisters in Christ may not understand it.
I know that people around me at work or whatnot are wondering why all of these people arestanding up for Charlie Kirk.
(28:56):
are all these people fans, why are they coming from Ireland and all over the globe forthis celebration of life?
And, I don't think I'll ever forget when I found out that he had gotten shot.
My spirit was connected to Charlie's because he's my brother in Christ.
(29:16):
And I feel like everyone
coming out and speaking up and embracing situations differently because our spirits aregrieving over the loss of a brother.
But we celebrate knowing that God's gonna use everything for good, right?
(29:36):
And Charlie's not in any pain.
Charlie's having a blast right now.
He's probably at a meet and greet up there, interviewing a bunch of people that he's, youknow.
thought about or taught about, I don't know, it was just uh a horrible thing that happenedand uh beauty's coming out of the ashes.
Yeah, and I think Trump felt that too when he was shot.
(30:01):
I was at the RNC and one of the things that I noticed immediately was...
he literally had a softness to him.
I know that he thinks that God saved him because He has a job to do.
I just, I really do hope that other people get that and understand that
try to embrace it.
(30:22):
I can personally say for myself that ever since I got the news about Charlie'sassassination, what am I supposed to do with this?
As I mentioned, I work on a college campus.
I'm like, I'm gonna start a turning point.
Wait a second.
That's not my gifting.
That's not what I'm supposed to do.
But I am waiting to hear from the Lord as to what I'm supposed to do with it, because Iknow that we're all supposed to learn something and do something.
(30:50):
And uh I can't wait to see what comes of it, because I think we're united as, Christiansto help in getting the good to come out of what has happened.
I agree.
I agree.
All right.
Well, do you ladies have anything else you would like to talk about?
(31:14):
Uh-oh.
the best part of being five-year-old Jenny Bash and my very best friend?
You want to know, and it's funny because, you know, when she did the, you know, I loveyou, And I literally started laughing when I saw that and I'm like, oh, I know what that
(31:35):
is, just of the sign language.
Yes, I can tell the story.
You remember it much better than me.
Yes, so in fourth grade we had an assignment that we had to go to the library and with apartner take out a book and learn something from the library.
So Jenny and I went and found books on how to fingerspell in sign language and thecreative mind that I am used it later on in the year.
(32:08):
Do you remember this?
Yes.
Yes, ingenious.
So in Mrs.
Weaver's class, we sat in a U and directly across from me is my best friend, Jenny, who'sa much better speller than I am.
And I held up my fingers to indicate that I didn't know how to spell the word for numberseven and that Jenny should spell it for me.
(32:34):
And I don't know if you did or not.
You probably didn't.
Okay, maybe.
I had to help you cheat.
I'm sorry.
Be creative.
I had to help you be creative.
oh I used to be good until menopause hit.
Now, now I'm screwed.
Yeah.
but you still didn't answer the question.
(32:54):
Was that the best thing?
Was cheating on spelling tests?
Oh, you know, our Barbie time was awesome.
That was like, I just remember Barbies in the house that your dad built for us.
that was just, that was, I mean, that was our life.
That was literally our life until we...
started out as Iron City beer cases sideways until us a bookshelf.
(33:18):
And then and then we got older we uh used to buy cigarettes and pretend to smoke and walkaround all the new home developments while our mothers used to climb through the windows
of the houses to go in and see what they look like before they were fully built.
Yes, well we did that too.
And then we'd kicked out of the house first thing in the morning, not able to come backhome until the lights were on and we'd go play kickball or baseball day down in the
(33:47):
cul-de-sac.
That was amazing.
As long as you didn't hit the Schaeffer's house.
They weren't happy about that.
Yep.
But it was a good childhood.
Yeah, it was fun for sure.
I appreciate you guys coming on
it was really great meeting you.
Thanks for having us on.
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