Mark Ode’s testimony on direct was compelling.
Right now, Ode is a candidate for a special agent role at the Naval Criminal investigative Service but he was a member of the U.S. Capitol Police force civil disturbance unit on Jan. 6, 2021.
He left the force in December 2022.
Ode was activated to be a member of the department’s “hard squad” on Jan. 6 or an officer who wears riot gear and carries a special baton and shield.
it was around 1 p.m. when he was asked to respond to a breach on the west side of the Capitol. He went to the east front to collect his shields and immediately deployed.
There were thousands of rioters, Ode said and it was immediately apparent that officers were vastly outnumbered. He responded to an area where bike racks had been removed by the crowd and officers were being assaulted.
Police were being punched and there was “wrestling” happening among officers and rioters over the remaining barriers that separated them. Projectiles were being lobbed at police and Ode recalled seeing people pick up metal objects before throwing them at him. There was shouting and it was hard to hear his commanding officers over the din, he testified.
Ode described being knocked off balance before being “pulled down to the ground.”
During direct examination by prosecutor Nadia Moore, Ode reviewed photos that appeared to show Pezzola in frame (and in the fray) as Ode’s riot shield is taken.
Ode’s baton, shield, and gas mask were taken off of him after that interaction with the mob. He was eventually retrieved off the ground by other police and it took him 10 to 12 minutes, he testified, to regain his sight after being hit in the face with an unknown chemical substance.
Norm Pattis, representing defendant Joe Biggs, conducted cross of Ode. Pattis’ questioning went fast as he asked Ode about the training he received and any intelligence briefings he may have received before Jan. 6. about potential security threats.
Ode said before Jan. 6,—though he was not clear on the specific date—he and other officers were briefed about preventing unauthorized persons from entering the Capitol and protecting the integrity of the Capitol.
The former Capitol Police officer said he was told there would be a large crowd and it was likely that they would be agitated.
Notably, Ode testified that he didn’t know the specific time former President Donald Trump was slated to speak at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, and he wasn’t attuned to the specifics of Trump’s remarks.
Ode also said it was an assumption that the certification could take a matter of days if there were numerous objections,
Pattis’ cross grew more pointed as his questions to Ode circled around how he responded when he was under siege and he peppered him with questions about how he reacted in the heat of the moment, asking him what hand he used to protect his sidearm versus what he hand he used to handle his police shield.
Jurors are now on lunch and will return shortly.