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During the mayhem asDonald Trumpsupporters stormed the Capitol — interrupting an electoral vote count with hopes of overturning the 2020 election results — the vice president,Second Lady Karen Pence, their daughterCharlotte Pence Bondand staff membersabsconded into a hiding placewith seconds to spare thanks to the help of Secret Service agents.
While some of the rioters at the Capitol chanted about wanting to “hang” Pence, the vice president and at least some of his entourage were moved to an undisclosed location.
“The photos show Pence in a barren garage. There were no windows and no furniture. This was a loading dock with concrete walls and a concrete floor,” Karl writes.
Rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Samuel Corum/Getty
According to Karl, Pence was determined to stay within the Capitol complex. (A spokesman for Pence did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Karl’s book.)
“The vice presidential motorcade had been taken down there, but for the first couple hours, Pence refused to go inside his vehicle,” Karl writes inBetrayal. “He was concerned that if he did, they would drive him away from Capitol Hill. The last thing he wanted the world to see was his motorcade fleeing the Capitol building.”
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In one of the images, Karl says the vice president is looking at his Chief of Staff Mark Short’s phone. “One of the things Short showed him was Trump’s tweet saying he had no courage. Pence seems to be grimacing as he looks at Short’s phone, but I’m told Pence never really reacted to Trump’s taunt — not even privately,” Karl writes.
Mike Pence (masked) is evacuated from the Senate after Donald Trump’s supporters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.capitol security footage
Wrapping up the section ofBetrayalabout Pence’s time in hiding on Jan. 6 and the unpublished photos of him in the previously undisclosed location, Karl writes about the vice president’s determination to stay at the Capitol.
“The congressional leaders had fled and Pence remained. Trump had incited his supporters to go after Pence. Now there were mobs in the Capitol chanting, ‘Hang Mike Pence,'” Karl writes. “If there was ever a day Pence had shown courage, this was the day. But Trump called him a coward.”
source: people.com
