Texas senator Ted Cruz was filmed scrolling through his phone during the opening testimony at the Senate hearing into the Capitol riot, less than a week after his controversial trip to Mexico.
Five people died and several more were injured on that day, as a mob of pro-Trump supporters besieged the building, causing House members to barricade themselves inside offices.
Steven Sund, who was serving as the chief of the Capitol Police at the time of the insurrection, gave his account of the events of that day in front of the committees on Tuesday.
“Based on the intelligence we received, we planned for an increased level of violence at the Capitol, and that some participants may be harmed,” Mr Sund said during his testimony.
As Mr Sund continued describing how the Capitol police force was not prepared for the insurrection that took place, Mr Cruz continued looking at his phone.
Social media users were quick to criticise the senator for using the phone during the testimony, with @kachelme1 tweeting: “Why does @tedcruz even bother coming to committee?”.
She added: “We could have had 10 times the amount of people working with us, and I still believe the battle would have been just as devastating. »
