Who is Caroline Edwards, the police officer testifying tonight on Jan. 6

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards is set to be one of the witnesses testifying during Thursday’s prime-time hearing held by the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. 

Edwards was the first law enforcement officer injured as rioters began to charge inside the building, according to the committee.

“Even after suffering a traumatic brain injury, Officer Edwards patrolled the Capitol’s West Plaza and prevented many rioters from entering the Capitol building,” the select committee said.

She has yet to rejoin the first responders unit of the U.S. Capitol Police because of her injuries but is expected to resume her role this year, the panel added.

Edwards was reportedly asked by rioters, “Why are you standing in our way?” during the attack, NBC News reported, citing court documents.

During the attack, the 5-foot-4, 31-year-old suffered a concussion and has since experienced fainting spells because of the brain injury she received, according to The New York Times.

But despite her injuries, Edwards has said she remembers the events of Jan. 6. well. 

“Those images, the smells, the yelling — you know, the chaos. That day was a war zone,” she told MSNBC in a 2021 interview.

Edwards is originally from Atlanta and graduated with cum laude honors from University of Georgia. She began her law enforcement career in 2017 after leaving a public relations career “to answer the call to serve.”

She and Nick Quested, a British filmmaker who recorded members of the far-right Proud Boys as they stormed the Capitol, are scheduled to testify on Thursday. 

During the hearing scheduled for 8 p.m., the committee will “present previously unseen material documenting January 6th, receive witness testimony, and provide the American people an initial summary of its findings about the coordinated, multistep effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power.”