A maskless Lindsey Graham yelled at an officer for not protecting members of Congress during the Capitol attack, Sen. Sherrod Brown said

• Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham yelled at an officer during last week's riot at the Capitol.

• "Lindsey Graham, with his mask off, started screaming at one of the officers — I think it was one of the captains — saying: 'How come you didn't protect us? It's your job,'" Brown told MSNBC.

• Brown used the anecdote to criticize Graham, saying: "This is the same Lindsey Graham that for four years defended and argued for and encouraged and aided and abetted this president and all of his followers."

• Despite his previous support for President Donald Trump, Graham has strongly condemned the Capitol rioters, calling them "domestic terrorists" and blaming Trump for inciting them.

• A spokeswoman for Graham confirmed Brown's account to Insider, but said the senator shouted at the Senate sergeant at arms, the top law enforcement officer in the Senate.

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Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told off an officer while members of Congress sheltered during last week's Capitol riot, according to his Democratic colleague Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Brown told MSNBC on Monday that he witnessed the South Carolina senator, who he said was not wearing a mask, yelling at an officer after they had been ushered out of the Senate chamber on Wednesday.

"Lindsey Graham, with his mask off, started screaming at one of the officers - I think it was one of the captains - saying, 'How come you didn't protect us? It's your job,'" Brown recalled.

Brown used the anecdote to criticize Graham, saying: "This is the same Lindsey Graham that for four years defended and argued for and encouraged and aided and abetted this president and all of his followers."

A spokeswoman for Graham confirmed Brown's account to Insider, but said the senator shouted at the Senate sergeant at arms, the top law enforcement officer in the Senate.

"Graham made his feelings known directly to him," the spokeswoman said.

Senate Sergeant at Arms Michael Stenger resigned from his post after the Capitol breach.

Read more: Lawmakers, Hill staffers, and reporters recount the harrowing experience as a violent pro-Trump mob broke into the Capitol to protest the electoral-vote count

Graham has slammed the Capitol Police over the breach, telling reporters it was "mind-boggling" that rioters were able to get past officers and into the building, according to The Hill.

"Anyone in charge of defending the Capitol failed," Graham said. "The first thing that has to happen is to hold those accountable for failing to defend the nation's Capitol while the Congress was in session."

"They could have blown the building up. They could have killed us all. They could've destroyed the government," he added, referring to the rioters. "We dodged a major bullet. If this is not a wake-up call, I don't know what is."

While Graham has been a staunch defender of President Donald Trump and his supporters over the past four years, he condemned them over the Capitol breach.

Graham said last week that he was "embarrassed and disgusted" by the breach, and he referred to the perpetrators as "domestic terrorists." He also placed blame for the riot with Trump, saying: "When it comes to accountability, the president needs to understand that his actions were the problem, not the solution."

In a tweet last Friday, Graham also said the rioters should be "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

He has not, however, supported the Democratic effort to impeach the president for his role inciting the mob.

A video posted on Twitter on Friday showed Graham being harassed by a group of Trump supporters at Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, with people shouting "Traitor!" and "You're a liar!"

Brown and Graham have unsurprisingly differed on political issues in the past, including recently on the issue of police reform. But they have also found common ground, having signed on to bipartisan bills on climate, economic, and international issues.

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