Chilling radio traffic reveals terror of Pence security detail in Jan. 6 attack

July 22 (UPI) -- Frantic Secret Service radio traffic on Jan. 6, 2021, revealed how close Vice President Mike Pence came to being engulfed by the violent mob attacking the U.S. Capitol.

House Jan. 6 committee testimony Thursday showed that less than a minute after Pence was rushed to an office 100 feet off the Senate floor, the mob breached the second floor of the Capitol.

Chilling audio revealed in the prime-time hearing included a witness testifying that Pence's security detail transmitted goodbye messages to their families, fearing for their lives as they sought to clear an evacuation path for Pence.

"There were calls to say goodbye to family members, so on and so forth," an unidentified White House security official said in audiotaped testimony with their voice disguised out of fear of retribution. "For whatever the reason was on the ground, the VP detail thought that this was about to get very ugly."

The witness testified that as he monitored radio traffic from Pence's security detail, he could tell the danger the vice president and Secret Service agents faced because the agents were yelling and screaming.

In an excerpt from one of the radio messages from Pence's Secret Service detail played by the committee, an agent said, "We need to move now. If we lose any more time, we may lose the ability to do so."

The mob had earlier chanted "Hang Mike Pence!"

Amid smoke and chaos as the mob moved inside the Capitol, agents guarding Pence searched for a safe evacuation route.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump was resisting calls from his administration officials and family members to send help.

A Trump tweet at 2:24 p.m. Jan. 6 inflamed the crowd further, former aides testified.

"Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done," Trump's tweet said.

Witness Sarah Matthews, a former White House communications aide, testified Thursday that Trump's tweet was like "pouring gasoline on the fire."