Senator Joe Manchin said that he was ready to “stay and fight” during the Capitol riots on January 6th, according to USA Today.
The Democrat from West Virginia recently discussed the Capitol riots in an interview. “My intention was to stay and fight: ‘Let ‘em in. Let’s go at it.’ But I didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “You had a lot of people chanting. I didn’t think anything of that. But within 10 or 15 minutes, a SWAT team comes in with all of their gear and says ‘You guys are out of here. Just go now. Don’t even stop.” The 73-year-old, 6-foot-3 former football player said he still can’t believe the events that unfolded that day.
Manchin was a rare Democrat who had a friendly relationship with former President Donald Trump. At one point, there were reports the president wanted to name him as his energy secretary (which would have given West Virginia’s Republican governor a chance to fill Manchin’s Senate seat), but the senator withdrew his name from consideration.
Manchin went on to vote to impeach the president twice, including in February on a charge he incited the January 6 mob to attack Congress. Trump was acquitted both times.