Women Were at the Forefront of Insurrection Hearings

    It was women who were at the forefront of the Jan. 6 insurrection hearings. It was a woman, Nancy Pelosi, who called for creation of the select committee. It was a woman, Liz Cheney, who co-chaired the hearings and who was the guiding force of the hearings. It was a woman, Sarah Matthews, who testified that the insurrection was "the darkest day in our country's history" and who said Trump's actions that day prompted her to resign from being deputy press secretary. 

   It was a woman, White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who provided key evidence against Trump, testifying that Trump was angry when security officials refused to drive him to the Capitol to be with his supporters. She said the president was so upset that he grabbed the SUV's steering wheel when the officers told him they would not take him there. 

   It was a woman, Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who testified she was tear-gassed and knocked unconcious, and who described it as a "war scene," with officers lying on the ground and bleeding. "I was slipping in people's blood," she said.

   It was two women, Georgia elections workers Shaye Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, who testified they received death threats, home break-ins, and sexualized threats when their superior elections officials questioned their integrity in counting the votes.

   "The political courage of women from both parties has been front and center," said Joanna Lydgate of the United Democratic Center.

   Of note: Cheney purposefully wore a white jacket, on the final day of the hearings. White jackets were famously worn by suffragette leaders in the early 20th century as they fought for the right for women to vote.