Capitol rioter to CNN: We could absolutely f***ing destroy you
Journalists reported on violence and chaos in real time as rioters stormed the Capitol Wednesday, and some members of the media experienced the wrath firsthand.
CNN’s Senior National Security Correspondent Alexander Marquardt and his crew were bombarded by insurrectionists as they covered the rowdy and violent crowd at the Capitol.
“There’s more of us than you,” one rioter said, threatening the journalists. “We could absolutely f***ing destroy you!”
“This guy’s with the media,” one person yelled, referring to Marquardt. The journalists were booed. One person screamed, “Get the f***k out of here!” and another rioter in a red, white and blue shirt and red hat used a megaphone and yelled, “CNN sucks” repeatedly. The crowd around the crew also chanted “USA” in unison, repeatedly.
The CNN crew shuffled to leave as one person in the mob tried to grab the crew’s equipment.
That wasn’t a one-off incident. Harassing the media was a common theme during the siege.
The mob at the Capitol outwardly bashed the media as a whole Wednesday, verbally harassing journalists and, in some cases, destroying media equipment. Associated Press crews were forced away from the area outside the Senate, where they had set up equipment to report on the scene.
A pro-Trump rioter wrote “Murder the media” on one of the doors of the Capitol building, and two Washington Post reporters were arrested in the field.
“We had to walk this line of how close we get to actually witness events and do our job but also stay safe,” Marquardt told CNN Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter Sunday, reflecting on his experience. “We were lucky to have gotten out of there without any sort of physical assault.”
