Norma J. Torres still keeps a gas mask and a bulletproof vest in her office, both vestiges of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The California Democrat was among a small group who sheltered in the House gallery as a gunshot rang out and police lines were breached. The gas mask was pulled from under her seat in the gallery. The bulletproof vest she bought later to wear during the inauguration of Joe Biden, just weeks after the mob breached the Capitol in an attempt to block the transition of presidential power.
Two years later, she can’t bring herself to part with either. The memories are still too fresh and her faith in her colleagues across the aisle too tenuous.
