Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., delivered an extended firsthand account of the January 6 Capitol attack during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, describing walking through debris alongside Vice President Pence before pressing Special Counsel Jack Smith on threats to law enforcement and the firing of career prosecutors.

Klobuchar, who said she served as incoming chair of the Senate Rules Committee at the time, described leading senators from the Senate to the House at the start of the electoral certification ceremony — and then returning a second time after the Capitol had been breached.

And then came the insurrection. Capitol Police were attacked, pepper sprayed, clubbed, and trampled. I remember senators gathered in a room trying to call the National Guard to see if anyone would help.

Amy Klobuchar at the hearing, saying the words quoted above. Captions from the auto-transcript.

But this time, the walk wasn't a pageantry. We were walking over broken glass. We were walking over marble pillars spray-painted with vulgarities. But we did our jobs, and we made clear to the world before the sun came up, and that was our goal, that democracy prevailed.

Klobuchar said the president had pardoned more than 1,500 people who attacked the Capitol, called January 6 a day of love, and set up a fund using taxpayer dollars to pay those convicted of crimes — actions she described as repeatedly trying to rewrite history.

Quote card: Sen. Amy Klobuchar: “And then came the insurrection. Capitol Police were attacked, pepper sprayed, clubbed, and trampled.”

She then asked Smith directly about the scale of violence officers faced that day.

The hearing webcast at 1:40:23, as a witness spoke.
The hearing webcast at 1:40:23, as a witness spoke. U.S. Senate committee webcast (public domain)

Law enforcement officers who sought to protect the people in the Capitol were brutally assaulted. Over 140 officers were assaulted. They were assaulted with weapons. As you mentioned, some of them lost their lives. These are people, in my view, who we do not thank enough.

Klobuchar also quoted from Smith's prior written description of the prosecutors and investigators in his office, then asked what he wanted the public to know about those career public servants. Smith praised their dedication and characterized them as heroes.

My view, these people are heroes, and I believe our country does not recognize and pay enough attention to people like that.

Klobuchar pressed Smith on the consequences of firing career prosecutors and agents who had worked on January 6 cases, asking how such dismissals weakened public safety.

It weakens public safety in a number of respects. If you fire people who have the expertise to conduct investigations properly and to represent the United States in court properly, you are making our country less safe.

The exchange came after a contentious moment between Klobuchar and Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., who had concluded his questioning by calling Smith a villain and a dirtbag. Klobuchar challenged the factual basis of a poster board Schmitt had displayed, which she said confused the name of a basketball team. Smith testified that he had attended a University of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark was playing, with the Marshal Service present. Klobuchar closed by confirming the game details and demanding an apology.

call you a dirt bag is something that deserves an apology. Thank you, Mr. Smith.Verify · 106:22

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called the committee to order after Klobuchar concluded and recognized Sen. Katie Boyd Britt, R-Ala., for the next round of questions.