She Was Begging and Pleading Jan 6 Protester Recalls Witnessing Rosanne Boyland Die

‘She Was Begging and Pleading’: Jan. 6 Protester Recalls Witnessing Rosanne Boyland Die
(Republished from theepochtimes.com)

‘She Was Begging and Pleading’: Jan. 6 Protester Recalls Witnessing Rosanne Boyland Die
(Republished from theepochtimes.com)

https://gorightnews.com/she-was-begging-and-pleading-jan-6-protester-recalls-witnessing-rosanne-boyland-die/

https://www.spreaker.com/user/9922149/she-was-begging-and-pleading-jan-6-prote

“It was hell itself.”

Philip Anderson doesn’t like to talk about that part of Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol. It’s just too painful, even with family and friends.

“It’s so terrifying to even bring it up. I don’t have to remember that until my very last day, until I die,” the 26-year-old told The Epoch Times. “It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced.”

Anderson was at the bottom of a pile of people caused by a stampede out of the West Terrace tunnel when police unleashed gas on the crowd of protesters.

Right next to him lay Rosanne Boyland, 34, of Kennesaw, Ga. They were crushed by the weight of a heap 4-5 people deep. It created an indescribable squeeze. The pain was made worse by a lack of oxygen.

“You have to just lay still. You’re just air-swapping with the people that are on the ground with you,” Anderson said. “If you move even a little bit, bones are going to break in your leg, bones are going to break in your arm. I’m thinking, ‘I have to stay still and hope that my head’s not going to get smashed.’”

Tragedy in the Tunnel

It all changed in an instant.

Anderson and Boyland walked into the tunnel at the same time that afternoon. They did not know each other, but Anderson would play an important role for the Georgia Trump supporter in her tragic final moments.

“I did not know her. I didn’t know anything about her,” Anderson said. “I didn’t even know that she existed until I saw her out of the corner of my eye.”

The tunnel was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder, about a dozen across and perhaps 20-25 deep. The crowd was trying to access the doors leading to the Capitol.


However, police had other plans. They unleashed some type of gas on the crowd. It seemed to suck the air out of the tunnel.

“I felt it, because I can’t breathe. That’s what it felt like,” Anderson said. “So I turn around and run away. I try to get out as fast as I can. If I had stood still, I honestly felt I was going to die. That’s what it felt like, ‘You’re not going to be able to get air inside if you don’t get out now.’”

The crowd tumbled out of the tunnel, down the steps like a waterfall. Anderson felt his legs give out. He fell, dropping like a swimmer doing a belly flop. His fellow protesters piled up around him.

“It wasn’t that I tripped or anything like that. I cannot get air so I can move my arms, my legs. And then I fall.”


The terror was palpable as the weight of the pile crushed those at the bottom. Anderson and Boyland ended up near each other.

“She was begging and pleading. She was trying to scream but she couldn’t scream very loudly,” Anderson said. “She gave up on it and that’s when she reached out. She grabbed my hand. She’s reaching out to grab something. When she felt my arm, she grabbed my hand. She didn’t get to hold on for very long, though.”

Anderson felt such agony, he tried to prepare himself to die.

‘You’re Killing People!’

“I could feel that I was dying,” Anderson said. “I could feel it. That was the scariest part. I accepted that I was going to die. I was just praying to...