• West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said he wanted to “stay and fight” during the deadly Capitol Riot.

• “My intention was to stay and fight, ‘Let them in. Let’s go, “” he told USA Today.

• He and other trapped lawmakers were eventually evacuated from the building by police.

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West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said he wanted to “stay and fight” during the deadly riot on Capitol Hill on Jan.6 before being evicted from the building by police.

“My intention was to stay and fight, ‘Let them in. Let’s go. “But I didn’t know what was going on,” the Democratic lawmaker told USA Today.

“You blackmailed a lot of people. I didn’t think of that. But in 10 or 15 minutes, a SWAT team comes up with all their gear and says, ‘You’re out of here. Go now. Don’t even stop. ‘”

Hundreds of Trump supporters broke into the Capitol building in Washington, DC, in January in an attempt to overturn President Joe Biden’s election victory in favor of Trump.

At least five people died during the siege, including a police officer.

Manchin told USA Today he has had a positive working relationship with Trump for most of his tenure, but distanced himself from the president in the wake of the Capitol riots. He ultimately voted to impeach Trump twice, including in February for inciting a mob to attack Congress.

“I’ve heard Trump’s rhetoric forever. I got along well with Donald Trump. We had a good rapport. He called me all the time. We talked both ways,” he said.

However, said Manchin, “he liked conflict and he liked this turmoil. And that’s good if you’re in business. But for the public service it doesn’t work.

“The whole principle of public service is to bring people together to come to a consensus. And Donald Trump was not made that way. So when I started to come to that conclusion, I think it was just a lot of rhetoric. I didn’t know. there was this kind of fever and pent-up hatred in people that it allowed them to unleash. “

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