Ted Cruz was filmed using his phone while a former police chief testified about violence at the Capitol

• Sen. Ted Cruz was pictured using his phone during Tuesday's hearing on the Capitol riots.
• The former chief of Capitol police was giving an account of the violent scenes in the January 6 riot.
• Cruz was criticized last week for flying to Mexico during deadly storms in Texas.

Sen. Ted Cruz was filmed using his phone during Senate testimony from the former Capitol police chief who said that the riot "constituted the worst attack on law enforcement that I have ever seen."

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs and Senates Rules committees on Tuesday heard evidence from current and former police officers into the events surrounding the deadly Washington riot on January 6, when a mob of pro-Trump supporters breached the Capitol building, resulting in at least five deaths.

Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund was one of those who testified into the events surrounding the insurrection at the Capitol building. Sund in his written testimony said that the Capitol insurrection was carried out by "criminals" who "came prepared for war."

"Based on the intelligence we received, we planned for an increased level of violence at the Capitol," Sund, who resigned in the wake of the January 6 riot, said at one point in the hearing.

At that point, footage broadcast by C-SPAN cut to Sen. Cruz, who appeared to be typing on his phone.

—The Recount (@therecount) February 23, 2021

It was unclear whether or not he was using his phone for purposes related to the hearing. Insider contacted Sen. Cruz's office but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Cruz was at the center of an intense political backlash last week after he flew to Cancun for a vacation during extreme winter storms in Texas which knocked out power for millions across the state.

Text messages seen by Insider showed Cruz's wife, Heidi, talking to neighbors about the trip in advance.

"Anyone can or want to leave for the week? We may go to Cancun, there is a direct flight at 445pm and hotels with capacity. Seriously," she wrote.

The senator flew back after less than 24 hours and admitted the trip, which he said he had taken at the request of his daughters, had been "a mistake."

"It was obviously a mistake and in hindsight I wouldn't have done it," Cruz said. He added that he had not intended to aggravate "the suffering and hardship other Texans had experienced."

He also faced intense criticism for helping to push President Trump's claims of widespread voter fraud in the run-up to the Capitol riot.

Cruz had spoken on the Senate floor to call for an audit of November's presidential election just hours before hundreds of Trump supporters breached the Capitol, prompting his communications director to resign.

Several Democratic lawmakers called at the time for Sen. Cruz to resign, including Sens. Patty Murray, Chris Coons, Sherrod Brown, and Sheldon Whitehouse.