- Mike Pence says the Jan. 6 riots left him "angry", in excerpts from his memoirs.
- The former vice president issues one of the most forceful condemnations of the riot in the book.
Mike Pence has said he "was not afraid, but I was angry" as Donald Trump supporters attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In extracts from his new autobiography, "So Help Me God," obtained by Axios, the former vice president describes his response as rioters overwhelmed police and stormed the Capitol while he was presiding over the ceremony certifying Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election.
"I was angry at what I saw, how it desecrated the seat of our democracy and dishonored the patriotism of millions of our supporters, who would never do such a thing here or anywhere else," Pence writes, in one of his most forceful condemnations of the riot to date.
Pence was the focus of the anger of many rioters, who had turned against him after he told Trump that he didn't have the authority to obey to the former president's demands and refuse to certify Biden on the basis of bogus election fraud claims.
The vice president was evacuated from the chamber of the House as Trump supporters breached the Capitol, and taken into hiding by his Secret Service detail. In recents hearings by the House Jan. 6 committee, it was revealed that rioters had come within 40 feet of Pence.
Some chanted "hang Mike Pence" as they ransacked the Capitol.
In the wake of the riot, Pence has criticized the violence and has fallen out with Trump, yet has also attracted criticism for apparently seeking to minimize the responsibility of most of the MAGA movement and condemning the Democratic response.
Pence's recent visit to New Hampshire and Iowa, key states in GOP presidential primaries, has fuelled speculation he's considering running for the presidency in 2024.
He has recently said he is open to appearing before the House committee investigating the riot.