Simultaneously, no evidence existed to show the incident was indicative of ' an inside job' by congressional allies of Trump or Capitol Hill police. Nonetheless, no proof existed to doubt Pressley's staff's account of what happened in their suite as the mob of extremists including white nationalists stormed the federal building. Also, the email did not include anything but the above-displayed text, which meant our request for visual evidence of the new or former button system was denied. The statement to Snopes confirmed 'relevant agencies' were investigating the matter, though it did not answer our questions about who or what was conducting that examination - those questions remained unknown. Ever since Boston-area voters elected Pressley, who is Black, to the House in fall 2018, Groh said they routinely ran through safety drills in response to multiple death threats, The Boston Globe reported. In other words, before the attack that killed five people, Pressley's office said it used the emergency alarm system and regularly tested the buttons. The safety of the Congresswoman, her family and our staff remain our top priority and at the direction of the Congresswoman, the Sergeant at Arms oversaw the installation of new duress buttons throughout the office following the attack. The matter has been raised with the relevant agencies and is currently under investigation. Our staff has used these devices before and they are regularly tested and maintained. Capitol, Congresswoman Pressley’s Chief of Staff realized the duress buttons installed throughout the Congresswoman’s office suite had been removed. We also asked if photographic or video evidence of the temporarily wrecked alert system existed, and, if so, whether the office would be willing to share it with us.Ī spokesperson responded to us via email:ĭuring the January 6 attack on the U.S. 14, Snopes reached out to both Pressley's congressional office and political campaign for specifics on that investigation. 13.Īfter The Boston Globe's report, news outlets including Forbes reported Pressley's office said at least one agency was investigating why, or how, the panic buttons were purportedly 'torn out.' Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who said on Twitter he did not have panic buttons during the insurrection three days into his term, though they were installed a week later on Jan. No other lawmaker reported damaged or missing panic buttons after the attack, with the exception of Rep. In other words, it was true that Pressley's chief of staff said all panic buttons had been removed for reasons she and others did not know. As they were escorted to several different secure locations, Groh and Pressley and her husband tried to remain calm and vigilant - not only of rioters but of officers they did not know or trust, she said.

She had used them before and hadn’t switched offices since then. “Every panic button in my office had been torn out - the whole unit,” she said, though they could come up with no rationale as to why.

Groh pulled out gas masks and looked for the special panic buttons in the office.

13:Īs people rushed out of other buildings on the Capitol grounds, staffers in Pressley’s office barricaded the entrance with furniture and water jugs that had piled up during the pandemic. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, so neither she nor her staff could call for emergency help during the chaos.Ĭiting an interview with Pressley's chief of staff, Sarah Groh, The Boston Globe reported on Jan. The debate about the alleged conspiracy centered on an unproven claim that some Republican lawmakers gave 'reconnaissance tours' to Capitol insurrectionists prior to the attack (see our fact check of that accusation here), and an allegation that someone or a group nefariously removed panic buttons in the congressional office of Rep. 6, 2021, some Americans questioned if, or to what extent, Trump's allies in Congress or Capitol Police were complicit in the deadly siege of the federal building. President Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to protest Joe Biden's presidential win and a mob of them stormed the U.S. Why no rating on this article? This is a trending topic but has not yet been rated by Snopes for reasons we’ll outline below.Īfter U.S. 6 insurrection, possibly as part of a conspiracy against her. Ayanna Pressley's Capitol suite before the Jan. Emergency panic buttons were inexplicably removed from U.S.

Boston globe panic button