Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and other Republican lawmakers holed up in a janitorial closet during the January 6th, 2021 Capitol insurrection, according to excerpts from Cruz's new book that were obtained by Newsweek.

"Toward the end of our two-hour session, as Senator James Lankford from Oklahoma was speaking, there was a commotion from outside the [Senate] chamber," Cruz recalled in Justice Corrupted: How the Left Weaponized Our Legal System. "Suddenly, Capitol Police officers rushed in and hastily escorted the vice president off the dais. Shortly thereafter, we paused the proceedings. In the fog of the confusion, it was difficult to tell what exactly was happening. We were informed that a riot had broken out and that rioters were attempting to violently breach the Capitol building. At first, Capitol Police instructed us to remain on the Senate floor. And so we did. Then, a few minutes later, they instructed us to evacuate rapidly."

Cruz noted that he and fellow lawmakers were escorted to a "secure location" where "tempers were high" while a handful of their colleagues were "blaming us explicitly for the violence that was occurring."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.