‘Enough Is Enough’
Local party leaders voice opinions on mayhem at the U.S. Capitol
Following Wednesday’s chaos at the U.S. Capitol, local and state party leaders have spoken out regarding the incident, which left at least five dead, including a Capitol police officer.
Protesters took to Washington D.C. in droves, expressing their concern with Congress’ vote to accept the Electoral College’s decision to approve Presidentelect Joe Biden as the country’s next leader.
What began as a peaceful protest to the decision quickly turned to violent acts and destruction as a number of the crowd members stormed the Capitol, overtaking police officers and making their way to both Senate and House chambers.
All lawmakers were quickly moved to safety and unharmed, according to nationwide reports.
However, in the process, one protester — a U.S. Air Force veteran — was shot and later died while three others passed away “due to medical emergencies.”
On Thursday, it was reported that Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick also died, succumbing to injuries sustained during the riot, according to the Associated Press.
The police were outnumbered.
Only a few dozen guarded the West front of the U.S. Capitol when they were rushed by thousands of pro-trump rioters bent on breaking into the building.
Armed with metal pipes, pepper spray and other weapons, the mob pushed past the thin police line, and one rioter hurled a fire extinguisher at an officer, according to video widely circulated on Youtube.
“They’re getting into the Capitol tonight! They’re getting in,” a man filming shouted in delight.
They breached the line moments later, and rioters soon broke into the building, taking over the House and Senate chambers and running wild in Statuary Hall and other hallowed symbols of democracy. The mob smashed windows waving Trump, American and Confederate battle flags. The lawmakers who were voting to affirm Biden’s victory were forced into hiding for hours.
An Arkansan was photographed with his feet on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk. The man, Richard Barnett of Gravette, also left a note on her desk and took a piece of her mail.
He was arrested in northwest Arkansas on Friday when he turned himself in to the FBI.
Throughout the melee, police officers were injured, mocked, ridiculed and threatened.
Sicknick, 42, was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher during a struggle, two law enforcement officials said, although it was not clear if he was the officer shown in the video. The officials could not discuss the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Another disturbing video shows a bloodied police officer screaming for help as he’s crushed by rioters inside the Capitol building. The young officer is pinned between a riot shield and metal door. Bleeding from the mouth, he cries out in pain and screams, “Help!”
Other images show police completely overwhelmed by rioters who shoved, kicked and punched their way into the building. In one video, a lone police officer tries to hold off a mob of demonstrators from cracking into the lobby. He fails.
People attacked police with pipes, sprayed irritants and planted live bombs found in the area.
Sicknick’s family said Friday that he had wanted to be a police officer his entire life. He served in the New Jersey Air National Guard before joining the Capitol Police in 2008. Many details regarding the incident remain unknown, and Sicknick’s family urged the public and news media not to make his death a political issue.
Still, the riot — and Sicknick’s death — focused renewed attention on Capitol Police, a force of more than 2,300 officers and civilian employees that protects the Capitol, lawmakers, staff and visitors. The agency has an annual budget of about $515 million.
The Captiol police chief resigned from his position Thursday.
“The Democratic Party of Saline County is angered and saddened by the unbelievable attack on our country’s Capitol,” said Dustin Parson, Saline County Democratic Party chairman. “The democratic election results should be respected and the constitution upheld. The constant division that has been taking place has got to stop and the actions of (Wednesday) should be a wake-up call for all Americans to come together.”
Parsons added that those who committed the acts should be held accountable for their actions.
“Or this type of violence will continue. Violence and riots from anyone should not be accepted. Everyone has a right to exercise their rights to protest but when it turns violent there is no place for those actions in our society,” he added.
Outgoing Republican Party Chairman Steve Lux echoed Parsons’ response to the chaos.
“Violence is rarely if ever the answer to a problem. Law enforcement should use the videos to identify any lawbreakers and should then prosecute them,” Lux said.
During the incident, crowd members were heard shouting “stop the steal,” insinuating that the Democrats stole the election from President Donald Trump due to voter fraud.
“Millions of Americans are upset with the terrible job a number of states did in running the 2020 General Election,” Lux said.
Parsons added, “There were conspiracy theories spread by elected officials, including the president and his personal lawyer, leading these people to believe that the election was rigged.”
As for how members of the U.S. Congress should handle the situation from Wednesday’s events, Parsons said every member should condemn the violence and rioting that took place.
“They should also condemn the actions of those that led to the events that took place and demand immediate action,” he added.
Congress reconvened late into the night Wednesday, confirming Biden as the next president.
“Joe Biden is now our President-elect. For the sake of all Americans, we hope he will do a good job as our next president,” Lux said.
“We must have a smooth transition of power and work to better our nation,” Parsons added.
Parsons also had words of encouragement for the American citizens.
“(Wednesday) should be a wake-up call from all that we must expect more from our leaders,” he said. “We must stop the violence and remember we are all Americans. We are fighting with our brothers and sisters. Enough is enough.
“President-elect Biden has repeatedly assured the American people that he will represent all Americans — not just those that voted for him. He is committed to work in a bipartisan way to shore up the democratic institutions that have been weakened in the last four years. He has an aggressive agenda in his first 100 days to contain the pandemic and rebuild the economy. He wants to help all Americans who are suffering due to this pandemic.”
Biden said prior to the Georgia runoff elections that if Democrats take control of the Senate that $2,000 stimulus payments would be pushed out quickly.
Both Democratic candidates won their races to secure the Democratic Party will control the U.S. Senate for the next two years.
“The United States has weathered many crises in our 200-plus years of existence. We will survive this 2020 flawed election process and hopefully learn from it to improve our elections in the future,” Lux added.