J6

JANUARY 6 2021

It quickly became apparent that I would be wherever the news was. This was solidified on January 6, 2021. I happen to be in DC for some work at our warehouse and HQ in DC when the insurrection happened. I was staying at a hotel next to the capitol. As we all know, the national guard came in and shut down the city, no traffic, no movement. Except us. We began cooking meals out of our founder's restaurant Jaleo in DC and distributing the meals to the national guard on duty all night. A couple of days after J6, we provided meals at the capitol itself for the national guard and police, and Nancy Pelosi was there to help serve. This is where I find myself smack in the middle of it. I was to drive the van (white, unmarked) into the capitol with a police escort straight up to Nancy herself, a mere 72 hours after her life was threatened. Extraordinary. A few days later, Jose Andres, our founder did some news segment at night while we were serving, and I took got a photo of him which is still one of the most used photos of him for the organization.