Women Around The Country Were Crying As They Watched Christine Blasey Ford Testify Against Brett Kavanaugh

Those in the actual courtroom were seen and heard weeping as Ford gave a chilling and detailed account of the alleged assault.

Women across the country took time out of their morning Thursday to tune into the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. They waited with bated breath to hear from Christine Blasey Ford, the first woman to publicly accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.

Ford opened her testimony by saying she was "terrified" to be on a national stage. "I am here not because I want to be," she said.

"I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school."

Ford then gave a chilling account of what she said happened to her at a party in 1982. Her voice was shaky throughout, and at one point, she could be seen crying.

"The details about that night that bring me here today are the ones I will never forget. They have been seared into my memory and have haunted me episodically as an adult," said Ford, after recounting graphic details of the alleged assault.

Ford eventually said, "It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me."

Reporters in the courtroom, including BuzzFeed News' Paul McLeod, said they observed and heard people crying as Ford spoke.McLeod reported that while Republican and Democrat senators sat stony-faced during Ford’s emotional testimony, "the room was silent but for the clicking of reporters typing and some people quietly weeping in the audience."

DC reporter Jamie Dupree captured Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney wiping away tears in the audience.