Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his SUV and lunged at a Secret Service agent as he demanded to be taken to the Capitol on January 6: ex-aide

• Trump grabbed the steering wheel and lunged at a Secret Service agent trying to get to the Capitol on January 6.
• A former White House aide testified hearing about the incident immediately after it happened.

President Donald Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of his SUV and lunged at one of his Secret Service agents, Bobby Engel, while demanding to be taken to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, a former White House aide testified during a hearing of the House January 6 Committee on Tuesday.

Cassidy Hutchinson — a former top aide to the White House chief of staff at the time — recalled Trump's intense efforts to go to the Capitol on January 6 after the rally at the Ellipse despite his aides and legal counsel shooting the idea down.

Hutchinson said Tony Ornato, the White House deputy chief of staff, recounted the lunging incident to her immediately after it happened in one of the presidential vehicles, an SUV, after the Ellipse rally, when Trump was determined to go to the Capitol.

"I noticed the head of Mr. Trump's security detail sitting in a chair, looking somewhat discombobulated, a little lost," Hutchinson testified. "I looked at Tony, he said, 'Did you effing hear what happened in the Beast?' I said, 'No, Tony, I just got back, what happened?'

"Tony proceeded to tell me that when the president got in the Beast, he was under the impression from Mr. Meadows that the off-the-record movement to the Capitol was still possible and likely to happen but that Bobby had more information," Hutchinson continued. "As the president had gotten into the vehicle with Bobby, he thought that they were going up to the Capitol. And when Bobby had relayed to him that we're not; we don't have the assets to do it; it's not secure; we're going back to the West Wing, the president had a very strong, very angry response to that."

Hutchinson then testified that Trump "said something to the effect of, 'I'm the effing president, take me up to the Capitol now,'" to which Bobby responded, "Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing."

"The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. Engel grabbed his arm, said, 'Sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel, we're going back to the West Wing, we're not going to the Capitol.' Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards Bobby Engel," Hutchinson said, adding that when Ornato "recounted the story to me, he had motioned towards his clavicles."

Engel, who was in the room with Ornato and Hutchinson, did not "correct or disagree" with Ornato's recounting, Hutchinson said.

This story has been updated to reflect that Hutchinson testified that Trump lunged at Engel, who was head of the president's protective detail and not the car's driver.