A mob of right-wing agitators stormed the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, as Congress was preparing to certify the Electoral College presidential election count in which Joe Biden beat incumbent Donald Trump.
Right-wing protesters gathered outside the Congressional Capitol Building on Wednesday to voice opposition to the election. Trump has for weeks repeated baseless claims that the election was stolen. Around 3 p.m. EST, protesters broke into the Capitol Building, prompting an evacuation of Legislators inside. The protesters were eventually pushed out by law enforcement.
The sacking of the Capitol Building is unprecedented in American history, and local lawmakers reacted.
On Twitter, Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-1st Congressional District) tweeted: “My staff and I are safe. This violent mob will not stop us from carrying out our constitutional duty. My colleagues and I are determined to defend the vote of the people and certify the election results.”
Rep. Kim Schrier (D-8th Congressional District) also said she was safe: “Thank you to everyone asking about my safety. I am safe. I am VERY worried about the state of our country, and flabbergasted that our president has not put a stop to this. I am also worried about the health and safety of the Capitol Police, and thank them for their service.”
And Rep. Adam Smith (D-9th Congressional District) said much the same, but explicitly called the takeover a coup and domestic terrorist attack: “My staff and I are safe. This attempted coup and domestic terrorist attack needs to end immediately.”
Republican lawmakers from Washington state also joined in objecting to the attack. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-4th Congressional District) in a tweet said: “I wholeheartedly condemn this violence. This is not who we are, and this needs to stop immediately.”
Rep. Jaime Herrera-Beutler also issued a statement against the siege of the Capitol Building: “The reports you are hearing about the chaos, panic and dangerous actions by protestors are not exaggerations. I witnessed them. Is this the America we want to give to our children? A country of lawlessness and mob rule,” she wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.
In King County, Executive Dow Constantine also weighed in on what was happening in Washington, D.C.
“The scenes from the U.S. Capitol are an utterly predictable manifestation and culmination of the anti-democratic, anti-American fraud perpetrated by Donald Trump over the last four years,” he said in a press release. “This is a sad, dark moment in our nation’s history. I urge leaders at all levels of government and across the political spectrum to stand together in support of our nation, our constitution, and the peaceful transfer of power that these traitors are seeking in vain to disrupt.”
King County Council member Reagan Dunn also weighed in, saying in a press release:
“Like many of you, I am watching in horror at what is happening in our nation’s capital. The president has an affirmative responsibility to call for an end to these riots and to allow our democracy to function without intimidation. History will judge our president harshly if he does not immediately condemn these acts of violence and call for protesters to withdraw from the capitol building. Democracy is fragile and we have an obligation to future generations to ensure that the will of the majority is honored in the United States, whether we agree with the outcome or not. I pray there is a peaceful resolution to the situation and I pray for our country.”
Police were dispersing the crowds in Washington, D.C., ahead of the 6 p.m. EST curfew imposed in the nation’s capital.
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