The pro-Donald Trump rioters who stormed the US Capital earlier this week had intentions of wanting to kill Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to those who were there.
Even though he's a Republican, Pence is no longer liked by some supporters of the President after he counted the Electoral Votes in Congress, certified President-elect Joe Biden's win, and later confirmed he would attend his inauguration. Trump, on the other hand, says he won't attend Biden's inauguration, making him the first sitting president since 1869 to skip the event welcoming his successor.
In a video of the riot posted to Twitter, people are heard shouting, "Where's Mike Pence?" as they crowd one entrance to the Capitol building.
Pence, his wife Karen, daughter Charlotte, and brother Greg - who is a congressman - could hear the chants as they were evacuated from the building, according to CNN.
One person who was at the riot, Reuters photographer Jim Bourg, said multiple people wanted to "execute" Pence.
"I heard at least 3 different rioters at the Capitol say that they hoped to find Vice President Mike Pence and execute him by hanging him from a Capitol Hill tree as a traitor," he tweeted.
"It was a common line being repeated. Many more were just talking about how the VP should be executed."
But Pence was just one target of the rioters. One armed man, Cleveland Grover Meredith Jr, who stormed the Capitol and was later arrested, was found to have texts on his phone detailing his plans to execute Pelosi.
Meredith had allegedly sent a text saying he was considering "putting a bullet in [Pelosi's] noggin on Live TV", and another that said he was headed to Washington with "a shit ton of... armor-piercing ammo", CNN reports.
He also allegedly texted about running Pelosi over.
His messages were punctuated with purple devil emojis and he also used several slurs for women to refer to Pelosi.
The Independent reporter Andrew Feinberg, who is based in the US, said Pelosi was a target, along with Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.
"There are multiple photographs of pro-Trump rioters carrying law enforcement-style flex-cuffs," he tweeted.
"Rioters went looking for [Pence], [Pelosi], [Schumer]. It raises the question of whether there was an organized plan to take hostages."
The FBI is asking the public for help in identifying people who stormed the Capitol and for anyone involved in planting pipe bombs that were found in Washington DC the day of the riot.
Thirteen people have been charged so far in federal court in DC for their part in the riot.
"Today's charges are just the beginning of the FBI's ongoing efforts to hold those responsible for the criminal acts of violence and destruction that unfolded during the US Capitol building breach on January 6," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.
"To be clear, what took place that day was not First Amendment-protected activity, but rather an affront on our democracy. The FBI, along with our local, state and federal partners, is committed to ensuring that justice is served."
