ITV News’ Sophie Alexander on the storming of the Capitol
Transcript of the January 14th episode of TellyCast
Justin Crosby
I'm delighted to be joined by Sophie Alexander, the Washington DC producer for ITV News. Hi, Sophie, how are you?
Sophie Alexander
Hi, I'm very well, very tired. But very well. Thanks for having me on, Justin
Justin Crosby
Well, thank you for joining us, I realize you're incredibly busy in this the most extraordinary of times. But what I'd love to be able to talk to you about is your experience last week at the Capitol building as the only TV crew which was inside the senate inside the Capitol building, which is amazing. And if anybody hasn't seen the footage, then we'll include a link in the description and share it on social media as well. Can you talk us through the day, give us an idea of how the day progressed and how you as a crew went through the day reporting on these these demonstrations.
Sophie Alexander
We'd obviously had a team of bureau chat the day before, because we knew that the President was going to be speaking at a large rally, we thought it was probably his last public speech before Biden's inauguration. And we knew attendance was going to be higher than his other marches and rallies over the last few weeks. So we had agreed the day before that Robert Moore, our correspondent Mark Davy, our cameraman and myself would meet in the bureau at 930. And then head out to see the crowds forming - do a few interviews, Robert would do a piece to camera and then he would get back to the Bureau to edit with our editor Adam Blair under the eye of Alex Chandler our news editor. So that was sort of our plan for the day, we did anticipate that there may be violence. And however we thought that was going to be in the evening.
Justin Crosby
Did you get the idea that something has something was brewing because presumably a lot of these protesters had been arriving in Washington over the previous few days.
Sophie Alexander
Exactly that - we we knew it was going to be bigger than the previous two marches. But it was still fairly difficult to get a sense of quite how big it was going to be. And in the end, it didn't prove to be the numbers that were quite the issue. It was just the the violence, the anger, the frustration and the fury of which the protesters arrived in DC, you know, armed with - not to mention their weapons, they were armed with their anger as well.
Justin Crosby
There were reports I heard of people with long guns actually within the senate building.
Sophie Alexander
So, I never witnessed any. Anyone carrying a firearm it's worth mentioning that while across America, there are different laws about carrying firearms, whether you can conceal them or not. But in DC, you are not allowed to carry a firearm. So, if they weren't carrying they would have been concealed. So, as I said, we went to the march and the rally, thousands of Trump supporters were amassing near the Washington Memorial waiting for him to come on stage at 11am. So, we got a few shots of the crowd. Robert did some interviews. He did a piece of camera, and then he had to nip back to the bureaux to edit as I said, so Mark and I stuck around waiting for Trump to come on stage, which he did about an hour late to you know, thunderous applause and cheers Not unlike we've seen before. But as we as we were sort of watching people watch him so to speak, it did become apparent a couple of times that there were quite odd sort of weapons people were carrying. But it also also wasn't quite out of place. Because we're used to seeing Trump supporters. A lot of them are very ardent and right wing, and it's not unusual to see them carrying wooden sticks, or that sort of thing. You know, it's not unusual. We did spot one man who actually walked right past us carrying it sort of really heavy wooden staff with a big spear on the top, which definitely made us sort of think twice about what was happening today. But the President during his speech, said, you know, "let's March, I want you to march to the Capitol". So we kind of anticipated it was going to happen as well. So we, as soon as he finished, we started walking with the protesters towards the Capitol, but there were thousands of people there, you know, it takes a while for a crowd to get going.
Sophie Alexander
So sort of slowly, we walked in, essentially, we were just waiting for that shot that Mark, the cameraman could get of the Capitol with a crowd walking towards it. So we were sort of really taking our time just trying to get this, this shot of the crowd of thousands. And then it was, as we got a little closer, Mark sort of kneeled down to get a shot of the crowds. And I heard these two loud booms. And I just thought, "right, well, that's unusual. Perhaps the crowd is setting off fireworks". It didn't sound like a gunshot, but it was very loud, and real boom. So you know, I flagged this to Mark after he got his shot. And he said, "No, it's not fireworks". I then looked at my phone. And I had a text saying there's a fight broken out on the steps of the Capitol. So Mark, and I just sort of looked at each other and started - not necessarily running - but walking very quickly towards the steps of the Capitol.
Sophie Alexander
The closer we got, it just became apparent that this was total chaos, unlike anything I've ever seen before at the Capitol, and certainly not like anything anyone had ever seen at the Capitol before. You know, the last time the Capitol was overrun, I think it was 1816. The closer we get, it's clear that the perimeters that the police have put out to surround the Senate, the fencing had just been pushed to one side and trampled on. So we're getting closer and closer, we walk over fences, we climb up a couple of walls as the crowd was doing, just just follow this mob, as close to the front as we can get. The closer we get, we see that protesters writers are actually on the inauguration stage that Joe Biden will be inaugurated on in less than two weeks time. That was absolutely unheard of - that has been protected since it was erected a couple of weeks ago. The closer we got, we can hear more booms and it becomes apparent that these are tear gas canisters, and the the air just changed not with the tear gas but the atmosphere. There was a frenzied sort of fury among the people we were surrounding. They just wanted to get as close to the front as they could get. And it was then I sort of started to think as a producer. "Okay, we need to really be careful here". I knew that Robert was on his way because he'd heard the fight had broken out. But I also knew that Mark and I needed to get these shots and get as close to the front as possible. So we just pushed our way through - Mark both eyes on the camera. So I was effectively a producer and his eyes. So my main priority was making sure one - he didn't fall over and two - didn't get hit by anyone or anyone throwing anything. And three that we got the shots, but really it was his safety and my safety first.
Justin Crosby
You're on the steps up to the Capitol...
Sophie Alexander
Yes, that's correct. It was then it became apparent that the police were just woefully outnumbered. And underprepared. They really stood no chance, no chance whatsoever. So this was while we were sort of in the middle of both inauguration stages sort of dead on with the Capitol right in front of us. Then we look to our left and there appeared to be a fresh swarm of people pushing left and actually pushing into the inauguration stage and under the scaffolding. We just followed them there was no conversation between Mark and I, it just became apparent that there was some sort of entry here then we followed them.
Justin Crosby
Mark had a shoulder-held camera at this point?
Sophie Alexander
No, thankfully not. Mark shoots on a DLSR-type camera so he was holding it with both hands. I think had he had one of the large, more typical TV cameras on his shoulder would have been one a lot more difficult. And two, I think it would have made us a lot more of a target.
Justin Crosby
At this point. Did you feel threatened? I mean were any of the crowd, aggressive towards you? Or at that point do you think that it wasn't clear that you were a news crew?
Sophie Alexander
I think it's exactly that - at this stage with no correspondent yet with us. We were ignored. The fury and the anger and the motive was to get inside the Capitol. We were just part of it. And we were ignored, thankfully. So then we proceeded to actually get under the scaffolding with the mob. At this stage, police are firing tear gas in very close proximity to us, which I've never experienced before. And I never want to experience again, it's pretty nasty stuff. We stay under the scaffolding. I'm not entirely sure of the timeline, but I don't think it was quite as long as it felt to be honest with you. At this stage, somehow, Robert manages to get through to me on the phone, which sounds like a minor detail, but communication with the third member of your team that's trying to join you in the middle of a riot. With hundreds and thousands of people around you also on their phones, it's very difficult to the fact that we actually managed to communicate, I could tell him exactly where we were, and he managed to find us was really quite something. Mark is still just shooting getting picture at this time just trying to gather as much I'm trying to make sure one - we're not, you know, as I said before, in the direct line of fire, in anyone's p ath. And also, a worry of mine was that we were going to get crushed because there was a stampede towards the scaffolding. And the next thing I knew we were just penned in and my chest was pushed up against M ark, there are people on the left of me the right of me behind me, and we were just stuck. So I managed to just grab my backpack, and sort of forced us and yanked us to the side just so we had a little breathing space. Robert, our correspondent then manages to join us. And before we know it, the crowd have broken down the doors and are running across the terrace into the Capitol. That's the sort of story of how we got inside anyway.
Justin Crosby
And at that point, there was presumably, you know, you saw people going in, and you wouldn't hesitate to go in - it was just follow the crowd, right? This is an incredible moment. As a viewer watching at home it felt like a real moment in history. And I think people texting each other back in London, you know, just said, "Have you seen what's going on at the Capitol?" So from your perspective, it's a case of, "well, we're going in".
Sophie Alexander
I don't think we even thought about it like that, as you said, we just followed them. We all knew in our own minds that this was unlike any situation ever experienced in DC or you know, not for hundreds of years - as I said. We followed the story, we followed the crowd inside, Robert managed to keep his cool and do a couple of pieces to camera, and we just follow the crowd.
Justin Crosby
And at that point, when Rob is doing the pieces to camera again, were you starting to feel more exposed that at that point, you're in the kind of eye of the storm and you were becoming obviously a news crew, and obviously a news crew with an English accent.
Sophie Alexander
Exactly. You're right. It did make us more of a target. And we got pushed a little but at this stage, we were on the terrace of the Senate not actually inside the building. Yeah, it was actually once inside the Capitol that we did get a lot more attention and unwanted attention. However, being British in this instance, helped. Remember these right wing rioters despise the 'fake news', as it's called. And we're talking about CNN, ABC, NBC. So we say to them, "Look, we're from the British press, we're just here to listen to you. We want to know why you're here, and why you're doing this". And it really helped defuse the situation. It really did, which is a sad state of affairs for, you know, American news and American journalism. It really is. However, on this occasion, in quite a dangerous situation. At one stage, there are a circle of men and camouflage or wielding these heavy wooden sticks sort of encircled us, all three of us had to sort of talk our way out of it, but we were we were fine and actually ended quite quickly. I've said before that the anger that day was really not directed at us. It was directed, you know, at those in power.
Justin Crosby
Did you feel at that point, presumably when you're surrounded by those guys, you presumably felt pretty frightened at that point, or were you able to defuse it as you've just explained quite quickly?
Sophie Alexander
I think the adrenaline truthfully, means that you're not frightened because I don't think any of Lots of look back now and said we felt frightened, it perhaps was frightening. But maybe we weren't frightened. Do you just act on the situation. We managed to defuse it also, it's not the first time as a TV news crew reporting in the States that we have been - not assaulted because that that's absolutely the wrong word. But questioned sort of forcibly let's put it that way. You know, we've used this line before. We've spoken to people before we talked our way out of it. So no, I wouldn't say we were frightened. But looking back it was, I guess, a little dicey.
Justin Crosby
And then from that point, I mean, how far inside did you follow the crowd? How far inside the Capitol?
Sophie Alexander
Oh, I mean, all the way. We followed them all the way to the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi's office and saw them ripping down her name placard and stamping on it on the floor. You know, we with them throughout. I would like to say, we were not there when Ashley Babbitt was shot and killed, and I am glad about that. We were at the heart of the storm in the Senate, that's for sure.
Justin Crosby
As a viewer, I was watching it live and thinking, you know, once night falls, this is gonna get even worse, you know, this is going to really get out of hand. Was it at that point when the military started to get involved. And then everybody sort of seemingly melted away, or how did it then progress from you being outside Nancy Pelosi's office?
Sophie Alexander
From there, I mean, we stayed with the crowd, the National Guard weren't mobilized for quite some time. I think we were inside for over an hour, I believe, well over an hour. And the crowd were roaming freely, there were a few police completely overwhelmed. And there's no chance that ten police officers can hold back a furious armed mob of hundreds, the police were just letting them pass letting them do what they wanted. Because in terms of the actual officers on the ground, it's not their fault. They were underprepared and overwhelmed, you know, and there's no way that ten officers are gonna hold back, as I said, that angry crowd, they would have been killed.
Justin Crosby
In retrospect, you know, it's quite extraordinary, isn't it the security setup, because you were there, you had the sense that things were going to get a little bit nasty, you would have thought that the protection for the US Capitol building would have been more substantial than what we've seen, which is a few barriers, and a handful of police is what it looked like.
Sophie Alexander
That's exactly it. I do wonder with previous marches and previous rallies in the Capitol, the violence has been in the evening, as we were also anticipating. Let's not forget that an attack on the Capitol, as I've said, is unprecedented. It's not happened for over 200 years. So perhaps it's not that surprising the Capitol wasn't more protected. However, it does raise really serious questions about not only the policing, but how the different agencies work together. The fact that the National Guard, we're not mobilized by the President at all, and it's the Vice President to mobilize them is quite astounding. It was only when the National Guard came into the Senate, that we were pushed to the ground, and then just forced with the rest of the writers out into the corridors. And then eventually, we called it and we left.
Sophie Alexander
From that point, you returned to the Bureau and started editing and sending your report back?
Sophie Alexander
Yeah. So Robert, our correspondent had left a little earlier because we knew this was huge. And he ran back to the Bureau and started editing feverishly with Adam Blair, our magnificent editor. While Mark and I stayed to try to gather more, we then looked at the time and realize that what at what the other footage that we got was excellent. And then if we also legged it, we can make it back into the Bureau. And hopefully that footage could also get into Robert's bulletin.
Justin Crosby
And how long did it take you to edit that piece to get it back from when when Robert started working on it until the time that you sent it back?
Sophie Alexander
Truthfully, I'm not quite sure. Time on that day... I've been trying to run out a timeline has just sort of skewed. It feels like it was all five minutes, but also about five hundred hours. It wasn't very long. I know that it was a really, really quick turnaround. And Adam did a fantastic job.
Sophie Alexander
As I say so it's a remarkable report, and we'll feature it on TellyCast in the description. Sophie, thank you so much for spending time with us. Actually one more question. How does it feel now in Washington DC you say you're you're obviously they'll run off your feet, incredibly busy. What's the sense around the city now?
Sophie Alexander
I wouldn't say it's one of fear. But there's been a curfew enacted from today. Which is days ahead of when it was meant to be for the inauguration. The security is everywhere. If you go down to the Capitol now it's a bit like a ghost town apart from the army, the National Guard, the police, you only see security, you don't see anyone else. I wouldn't quite say it feels like something's about to happen, because I do think following on from what happened last week, they'll have heightened policing by you know, a thousand times - it feels quite, quite strange. You know, it was this building, once again, was the scene of something incredibly historical, but this time, it's 2021. You know, how did this happen?
Sophie Alexander
It was remarkable. And I think a day that TV news as well really sort of reaffirmed itself as a, you know, an incredibly important channel for taking that story around the world rather than, you know, social media. Obviously, we saw lots of clips on social media and, and we know what's happened with social media in terms of Donald Trump and various others in the wake of this. Again, remarkable report. Congratulations, Sophie, to you and all of the team. And thanks so much for joining us. And we'll keep tuning in and watching your reports as the Biden inauguration happens over the next few days.
Justin Crosby
Brilliant. Thanks very much. It's great to talk to you.