US lawmakers shared the desperate calls to loved ones they made while trapped in the House chamber as a pro-Trump mob banged on the doors

• US lawmakers said they took cover and made calls to loved ones as a pro-Trump mob breached the US Capitol on Wednesday.
• "I need to talk to my kids, I thought to myself, because I may never talk to them again," Rep. Susan Wild said.
• Rep. Jason Crow — a former Army Ranger — also said he made a call to his wife to tell her he loved her and "might have to fight my way out."
• Congress was meeting for a joint session to certify the election results when the violent siege broke out and left five people dead, including one police officer.

In a viral photo taken during the siege at the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, Rep. Susan Wild can be seen lying on the ground, clutching her chest, as Rep. Jason Crow crouches over her and holds her hand.

As police officers began barricading the doors to the House floor, lawmakers made calls to loved ones, according to an account Wild shared with Elle.

Wild, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, said House leadership and the lawmakers on the lower floor had evacuated, while the ones with her in the gallery, the upper level, were searching for a safe exit. Then they heard shouts of: "Get down! Get Down!"

"That's when people started making phone calls," Wild told Elle.

"I need to talk to my kids, I thought to myself, because I may never talk to them again," she said.

Wild said she called her adult children over FaceTime to tell them she was safe, but her son said: "We hear gunshots and breaking glass in the background. How can you say you're OK?"

Members of the House and the Senate were meeting for a joint session of Congress on Wednesday to certify President-elect Joe Biden's win when a mob of Trump supporters broke into the Capitol.

The riot resulted in five deaths, including one police officer, and dozens of arrests. It also delayed the election certification, which took place hours later after the Capitol was cleared and Congress was able to reconvene.

Crow, the Colorado congressman, recounted his experience to Rolling Stone, saying he realized the danger they were in when he saw the Capitol Police barricading the doors with furniture.

"I called my wife," he told the magazine. "I told her I loved her and told the kids I loved them and told my wife I might have to fight my way out."

During the chaos, Crow, a former Army Ranger with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, assisted colleagues, including Wild, who told Elle he was her "personal hero that day."

Wild said Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama also made calls to her husband and her mother to tell them she loved them.

Crow recalled to Rolling Stone that he went into "Ranger mode" as the lawmakers could hear banging on the doors, gunshots, and flash-bang grenades.

He said the scene lasted for 15 minutes before the police were able to escort the remaining House members out of the chamber and to a secure location.

Congress was able to reconvene hours later after the building was cleared.

Read Wild's and Crow's full accounts at Elle and Rolling Stone.