Rosanne Boyland, a 34-year-old Trump supporter from Georgia who died during the attack on the Capitol on January 6, appears to have been killed in a crowd of protesters during her attempt to fight through a police line, according to videos reviewed by the The Times.
Although the videos have circulated widely, Boyland’s presence in them has gone unnoticed until now, and the form of his death was unclear. The videos show her body on the floor outside a door on the west side of the Capitol that was the scene of some of the worst violence of the day.
Her clothes and the backpack strap in the videos match those she was seen wearing in a photo of her earlier that day, and two witnesses, one of whom tried to help her, gave similar accounts of her death.
Here’s how the fatal race unfolded.
At around 2:30 pm, protesters on the west side of the Capitol made their way through the ranks of Metropolitan Police officers and gathered on a second-level walk. There, they headed towards a door and tunnel traditionally used by presidents when they emerge for its inauguration, hoping to break through the Capitol.
As soon as the crowd entered the tunnel, they were met by a line of riot police. Even when they started pushing, a rowdy can be heard in a video warning: “Stop pushing, someone will get hurt”.
In half an hour, the corridor was filled with rioters. At around 2:50 pm, an independent photojournalist, Jon Farina, came in and started shooting.
The crowd, which can be seen gathered in a dangerous crowd, attacked policemen and tried to use the weight of their combined bodies to push the policemen back, arresting many in the process. Both sides filled the air with irritating chemical sprays that fired back and forth.
The internal battle continued for another hour, as the newcomers eagerly joined the line of protesters who flocked in the crowded corridor to replace those who were injured or tired. Somewhere among these newcomers, although not visible on the video, were Boyland and his friend Justin Winchell, who accompanied her to the protest.
At 4:09 pm, the crowd can be seen making another push for the door. Less than a minute later, the police backed off, and the crowd could be seen walking out the door and down the stairs. Mr. Winchell, in a shiny blue hooded sweatshirt, is only visible at the top of the stairs.
For the next seven minutes, he can be seen pulling people away, seeming to look for Boyland as the rioters continue to roll out the door. There is a lull in the fight and the crowd shouts “I can’t breathe!” – a rallying cry of Black Lives Matter protests.
It is not clear from the videos whether Ms. Boyland was alive at the moment, but two protesters – one wielding a stick and the other a crutch – launched a new attack on the police at 4:17 pm, making it virtually impossible for police to give helps you, if they were able to notice it.
In the chaos, two men spotted Mrs. Boyland on the floor and dragged her away from the door.
The men put Mrs. Boyland on the steps and tried to resuscitate her. At least two people can be seen on the video providing CPR. At the top of the stairs, another man, wearing a purple jacket, can be seen apparently negotiating with the police so that protesters can get Boyland’s help.
About two and a half minutes after she was pulled away from the door, the men carried Mrs. Boyland back to the police line, even as other protesters continued to throw sticks and other objects at the police.
At least two people present during the fight at the door reported on video how they saw a woman being trampled in the crowd.
A man, who broadcasts live under the name Villain Report, said in a YouTube video posted on his channel that he saw a woman pass out from asphyxiation inside the tunnel. The man said he tried to feel the woman’s pulse after she was dragged away from the door, but found nothing. An analysis of the Times’ videos confirmed that he was among the men who surrounded Boyland’s body.
“When they decided to take the person and hand them over to a police officer, she had blue lips and blood was dripping from her nose,” he said in the video. “I don’t think that person will be revived.”
In another video, an unidentified rowdy said he also saw a woman trampled in the tunnel.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, paramedics who responded to a call about a medical emergency at the Capitol arrived and found two Capitol officers at the Rotunda performing CPR in Boyland, which the police said had passed out at the protest. The Metropolitan Police declined to confirm that the woman in the videos was Mrs. Boyland, but said she was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 6:09 pm
Neither Mr. Winchell nor Mrs. Boyland’s sister responded to requests for comment.
The day after Boyland’s death, his brother-in-law told reporters that he held President Trump responsible.
“Rosanne was really passionate about her beliefs, as many people are,” he said. “I never tried to be a political person, but I believe the president’s words sparked a riot that killed four of his biggest fans last night.”
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed reports. Christina Kelso contributed production.