CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview with Jason Crow

Interview

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COOPER (on camera): Taking their pins off in order to hide from the crowd. One of the voices you here in that clip is out of Colorado Congressman Jason Crow, a veteran and foreign and now domestic combat. Here he is trying to comfort his counterpart from Pennsylvania, Congresswoman Susan Wild with the mob trying to break into the upper part the chamber. Congressman Crow joins us now.

Thanks so much for being with us. You tweeted that today was the first time you saw exactly what was on the other side of the barricaded door while you were under attack on January 6th. What was it like seeing that?

REP. JASON CROW (D-CO) (on camera): Good evening Anderson, thanks for having me. Yes, it was tough to see. I'm not going to lie here, it was dramatic to live through, it was dramatic again sitting in my living room with my family and watch that video.

I mean, we knew that there was a violent mob on the other side, we've been watching that mob descend on the Capitol. We have heard what they were chanting. Heard the words of the president and the other speakers leading up to the riot. We knew what they were going to try to do.

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We knew our lives were in grave danger but seeing the number of folks, the beatings of the police officers. What they were doing to get their way in, it was pretty shocking stuff. And I don't think there's anything more clearly than the decision that before the senators has point.

COOPER: What was the moment like, when you and other lawmakers, you know, said, take your pins off? I was wondering what's going through your minds, you know, knowing now what was going on outside of the door, you know, you worked hard for that pin. It's something to be proud of. What was that like?

CROW: We are just trying to figure we had to do to survive, that is the bottom line. We knew we had been cut off, we were surrounded and we had barricaded the doors. There was no way out, many of us had called our families. I've called my wife and told her I loved her.

And I asked her to tell the kids that I love them as well. And as soon as I hung up the phone I kind of immediately got back into my combat frame of mind and just start to go through a checklist of what I had to do to get through the situation.

So, we knew that there were looking for us, that they were going to try assassinate us or capture us. So, taking the pins off made sense, looking for weapons, just doing anything we could to try to assess the situation. You know it was horrific. And you know, I'm glad that this video and all of the stuff that is

portrayed today was portrayed to the American people. The American people had to understand what happened there, we can't move on, we can't glosses over. This is one of the darkest days in the history of our democracies.

COOPER (on camera): One of things like I keep coming up to or the radio calls that we heard today from the Capitol Metro police, and I just want to play some, one in particular, I thought was really just so disturbing, but I think it's important to hear. Let's listen.

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UNKNOWN: Cruiser 50. I copy. We're still taking rocks, bottles, and pieces of flag and metal pole. Cruiser 50. The crowd is using munitions against us. They have bear spray in the crowd. Bear spray in the crowd. The crowd is using munitions against. Us Barrister in the crowd.

UNKNOWN: 1328.

UNKNOWN: Multiple deployments U.S. Capitol with pepper spray (inaudible). DSO, DSO, I need to re-up. I need a re-up up here.

UNKNOWN: Cruiser 50. We lost the line. We've lost the line. All MPD pull back. All MPD, pull back up the upper deck. All MPD, pull back to the upper deck, ASAP. All MPD come back to the upper deck. Upper deck. Cruiser 50 we're flanked. 10-33. I repeat. 10-33. West front of the Capitol. We have been flanked and we've lost the line.

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COOPER (on camera): That phrase, we've lost the line. We've lost the line. I mean, your former army ranger serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan, to hear that from an American police man talking about losing the line to their fellow countrymen and women attacking them.

CROW: Yes, Anderson, you almost say a word about courage, given a lot of thought in the last couple of weeks about what courage means, as the words has been past around enough a lot. You know, we hear some people talking about political courage, people talking about exercising courage for a vote. No we're not (inaudible) these senators exercise courage actually.

This Congress makes decisions and votes all the time to send young men and women to war. Some of whom don't come back. I've seen young men get their lives for this country. Those officers who threw their bodies into the breach, to try to save our lives. There are lots of examples of courage in this world and in this country, and in this democracy. And what we're asking this Senators to do, is not that.

We're asking them to make what should be a pretty clear decision to put aside politics and to fulfill their duty and their obligations. But let's not say this is some big moment of courage to stand up against constituents or risk losing your job, because it doesn't do justice to what courage really means and what some people have done to demonstrate that.

COOPER: And one of the, you know, the House managers today was pointing out the passengers onboard the flight that was heading toward the Capitol, heading toward Washington on 9/11. Who you know, took over the plane, who attacked the terrorists in order to protect the Capitol? And that is courage as well. Congressman Crow, thank you so much tonight, I appreciated it.

CROW: Yes, thanks, Anderson.

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