Democrat Rep. Stephanie Murphy thanks cops for letting her 'be able to hug her children again' after saving her life on January 6

Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy revealed on Tuesday how police officers saved her and another member of Congress on the day of the January 6th MAGA riot.

During the first hearing of the House panel investigating the insurrection, Murphy told the officers testifying how they saved her and fellow Democratic Rep. Kathleen Rice.

The two women were hiding in a room 40 feet away from the tunnel where DC Metro police officers Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges and other officers pushed rioters back. Fanone and Hodges were two of the officers testifying about their experiences on the day of the riot.

Murphy had the footage played of Hodges being crushed in a door as rioters beat him with his own gas mask. 

'You were our last line of defense,' Murphy, a Florida Democrat, told him. 'I shudder to think what would have happened had you not held that line.'

Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy revealed how police officers saved her and another member of Congress on the day of the January 6th MAGA riot

DC Metro police officers Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges were among the officers about 40 feet away, holding back rioters from the Capitol basement, where Reps. Murphy and Rice were hiding in a room

She recalled hearing the officers' coughing, helping one another, and then going back out to fight.

Murphy said the two women took refuge in that room because they thought they would be safe in the Capitol basement.

'It turned out we ended up at the center of the storm,' she said. 'Imagine if they had caught the two members of Congress that were just 40 feet from where you all were.'

She told the officers their actions gave her and Rice time to escape with a group of US Capitol Police officers sent to extract them.

She noted she has two young children: a 10-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter.

'And the reason I was able to hug them again, was because of the courage that you and your fellow officers showed that day. And so just to really heartfelt thank you,' she said.

Murphy's story was one of many shared on Tuesday as members of US Capitol Police and DC Metro talked about their experiences during the January 6th MAGA riot.

The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol held its first hearing and kept the focus on the police officers' experience when Donald Trump's supporters swarmed the Capitol, leaving five people dead in the aftermath. 

The emotional day got to almost everyone - lawmakers and witnesses alike. Several times the officers wiped away tears, particularly when footage from January 6th shown. The lawmakers got shook up talking about their gratitude for the officers' work. 

Rep. Murphy noted she has a 10-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter 'And the reason I was able to hug them again, was because of the courage that you and your fellow officers showed that day,' she said

Reps. Stephanie Murray and Kathleen Rice - the two women hid together in the basement of the Capitol on the day of January 6 riot; above Rice posted a pic of the two of them on her instagram account

Murphy noted not a single lawmaker was captured or hurt during the riot.

'I think it's important for everybody though to remember that the main reason rioters didn't harm any members of Congress was because they didn't encounter any members of Congress, and they didn't encounter any members of Congress because law enforcement officers did your jobs that day, and you did it well,' she said.

'I think without you, what would have been a terrible and what was a terrible and tragic day would have been even more terrible and more tragic. So just very grateful for all of you,' she added.

After the hearing, she went up to the officers to thank them personally for their service.