The officers rejected the idea that Jan. 6 was a “normal tourist visit,” as a GOP member said.
Daniel Hodges, one of the police officers who testified at the first Jan.6 select committee meeting on Tuesday, called those who breached the Capitol that day “terrorists,” rejecting the notion floated by Rep. Andrew Clyde that the insurrection amounted to typical “tourist visit.” Asked how he felt about Clyde’s (R-GA.) description of the deadly riot as a “tourist visit,” Hodges said, “if that’s what American tourists are like, I can see why foreign countries don’t like American tourists.” There was some brief laughter in the committee room after Hodges’ comment, though the limited capacity of the committee room meant that it was mostly staff and lawmakers who laughed. Hodges, a Metropolitan Police officer who was among those attacked by the pro-Trump insurrectionists at the Capitol, acknowledged that defenders of the rioters and allies of President Donald Trump might object to the term “terrorists.” But the label was an accurate one, Hodges said before reading aloud the definition of domestic terrorism as outlined in federal law. “I can see why someone would take issue with the title of terrorist. It’s gained a lot of notoriety in our vocabulary in the past few decades, and we’d like to believe that no, that couldn’t happen here. No domestic terrorism. No homegrown threats,” Hodges said. “But I came prepared,” he continued.
