Several law enforcement officers offered gripping accounts Tuesday of the harrowing violence and terrible fear they endured while trying to defend the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when a mob of then-President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the building. U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn recounted how pro-Trump protestors continued to swell at the side of the Capitol all morning on Jan. 6 before becoming violent after thousands had assembled. He also testified to the racism he faced that day. Dunn also recounted how the aftermath of the day had been a “blur” to him. At one point he broke down in despair in the Capitol rotunda and asked how the attack was even possible, he said. DC Metro Officer Michael Fanone, who nearly died on Jan. 6, has emerged as one of the most outspoken enforcement officials in the wake of the Capitol riot, during which he was beaten unconscious and suffered a heart attack. In the months since Jan. 6, he has lobbied Congress to create a bipartisan, independent commission to probe the riot and lashed Republicans for downplaying the attack. The other officers who testified were Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell and DC Metro Police officer Daniel Hodges. The officers' accounts provided a dramatic opening for the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, in which Trump's supporters tried to stop the certification of Joe Biden's 2020 election win.