Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) testified Monday about his "haunting" experience during the riot at the U.S. Capitol as a witness in the Colorado trial that aims to decide whether former President Donald Trump can be on the state's ballot in 2024.
The weeklong hearing began in Colorado on Monday over a lawsuit that cites a Civil War-era provision of the 14th Amendment that blocks those who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and later "engaged in insurrection" from holding higher office. Swalwell testified remotely to explain how the mob of pro-Trump supporters that entered the Capitol that day disrupted the peaceful transfer of power in a way that implicated Trump's privileges to remain on the state's 2024 presidential election ballot.
COURT CHALLENGES TO KEEP TRUMP OFF 2024 ELECTION BALLOTS BEGIN IN TWO STATES
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) testifies in 14th Amendment trial to disqualify Trump from the ballot in Colorado. pic.twitter.com/kaswzEI8q1
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) October 30, 2023
Swalwell, who has said he was one of the last to exit the House floor during the riot, was asked Monday what the rioters sounded like outside of the chamber, noting "it was haunting" to him.
"The chambers are mostly windowless," Swalwell told the court, according to a Law & Crime reporter. "So having just learned a bit on our phones about bombs around the building, knowing [the] mob had breached multiple perimeters ... the uncertainty of what they wanted and what they would do."
Martha Tierney, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, asked Swalwell whether he was looking at Trump's posts on Twitter as the day went on. Swalwell said he did and noted, "We connected the president's tweets to our own safety in the chamber and also the integrity of the proceedings taking place."
The plaintiffs in the case are six Republican voters in Colorado who suggest Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump from holding office again.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
State Judge Sarah Wallace is overseeing the trial, which has no jury. The judge has said the trial would examine nine topics, including the definition of "engaged" and "insurrection" as it is used in the 14th Amendment and whether Trump's actions fell into those meanings.
Oral arguments over a similar lawsuit filed at the Michigan Supreme Court are slated to commence Thursday.