Officials comment on events in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the unprecedented events today in Washington, D. C., various leaders have commented on the situation. Protesters entered the Capitol where both the Senate and House of Representatives were meeting to certify the electoral college votes when the process was interrupted by protesters entered, causing legislators to evacuate. A curfew of 6 p.m. was put in place for D.C as officials stated the Capitol building was secured. The National Guard was activated along with bringing in officers from the U.S. Marshals and Secret Service.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost commented, “The rule of law means the same rules for everybody. Those of us who called for prosecution of the people who stormed the federal courthouse in Portland must apply the same demand to those who stormed the Capitol today. The color of your skin or the slogan upon your banner must not change what is and is not acceptable. Let all of us in Ohio remain peaceful. Do not let a sense of injustice produce more injustice.”
“This is an embarrassment to our country. This must stop immediately. The President should call for the demonstrators to leave our Capitol Building. The final step in the constitutional process of electing our president has been disrupted. The stopping of the count of the Electoral College votes has occurred because the security of the U.S. Capitol has been breached by a violent mob. As a nation of laws, this is simply not acceptable. Lawlessness is not acceptable. This is an affront to our Constitution and everything we hold dear. Those who breached the Capitol breached the Constitution. Peaceful demonstrations outside the Capitol are an exercise of the demonstrators’ First Amendment rights. Stopping the constitutional process by which we elect the president is not,” stated Governor Mike DeWine.
“I’m shocked and dismayed by the violence here in the Capitol. This is not the way Americans solve our problems,” said U.S. Representative Bill Johnson.
U.S. Senator Rob Portman stated on social media, “The right to protest peacefully is protected under the Constitution but the actions by violent mobs against our law enforcement and property at the US Capitol building today are not. President Trump should condemn this unacceptable vandalism and violence.”
Likewise, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown commented on social media, “My staff and I are safe. The violence at the Capitol needs to end now. The lives of countless workers – journalists, staff, and Capitol Police are being put at risk by this attack on our democracy.”