Sen. Martin Heinrich on Jan. 6: 'I witnessed firsthand some things I never thought I would see at the U.S. Capitol'

As the riots in our nation's Capitol unfolded, New Mexico lawmakers were there witnessing the attack.

It's a day Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich can't forget.

"It was a pretty harrowing day. I witnessed firsthand some things I never thought I would see at the US Capitol. I'll just be blunt," Heinrich said. "I don't think anybody who was there can honestly say that that they didn't fear for their lives that day."

Heinrich said he was inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 to vote to certify the election results. Then the insurrection started and he and other legislatures were escorted to safety.

"What's even more horrible is the destruction of the shared truth of our democracy," Heinrich said.

Heinrich said Jan. 6 is a day where our democracy was under attack. Something a New Mexico Republican disagrees on.

"This idea that that the government was being taken over it just doesn't fly. And that's a very destructive narrative that the Democrats are trying to push," New Mexico GOP Party Chair Steve Pearce said.

Pearce said Democrats are trying to "distract the public" because they're desperate to maintain control in Congress. He said, "the courts are not finding much evidence of an insurrection."

"This looks like what it was, a demonstration that got out of hand. I don't condone them reaching the Capitol. It was very disrespectful. And I feel a sense of pain over that," Pearce said.

Something Heinrich doesn't agree with.

"There's at least one Capitol police officer I knew personally who committed suicide after Jan. 6."