Oklahoma members head to safety as Capitol is mobbed
Members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation sheltered in the Capitol complex and other locations while mobs of people protesting President Donald J. Trump's election defeat stormed the House and Senate chambers.
Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford was speaking on the Senate floor when Capitol police began evacuating the chamber as the mobs stormed the building.
“Protesters have charged the Capitol and have surrounded the Senate chamber,” Lankford tweeted. “They have asked us to stay inside.”
A photo taken inside the House chamber showed Rep. Mark wayne Mu ll in, R-Westville, crouched among the seats as government agents pointed guns at the doors. A spokesperson said Mullin had left the chamber.
In an interview on ABC, Mullin said, he saw several Capitol police officers injured in a triage area. He called the actions “sickening and sad.”
Some of those who stormed the building “were just looking for a fight,” Mullin said on ABC.
“This is a different group of people,” Mullin said. “The ones that attacked us had evil in their eyes.”
Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, tweeted, “My staff and I are safe inside the Capitol Complex. I thank the Capitol Police who are risking their safety to protect my colleagues and our staff.
“I unequivocally condemn the violence and riots seen today in and around the Capitol, and I pray for the restoration of peace.”
A spokesperson f or Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, said the congresswoman was safe in an undisclosed location.
Congress had just begun the process of certifying the Electoral College votes from the states. Some Republicans had launched a challenge to the certification of Arizona's votes and planned to do the same with other swing states lost by Trump.
Lankford, Bice and Mullin are among the Republicans siding with the challenges, which have been encouraged by Trump.
After being evacuated, Lankford tweeted, “Peaceful demonstration is an American value — violent destruction is not. Attacking police and destroying the Capitol is never a pursuit of truth and freedom. Never.”
That tweet received hundreds of replies, with many accusing the senator of being responsible for the rioting by supporting the effort to challenge electoral votes from some states.
Former Oklahoma Gov. David Walters, a Democrat, responded to a Lankford tweet, saying “We are thankful that you are safe. As you shelter from this mob of insurrectionist please reconsider your position which contributes to the false narrative that is spread by a deeply flawed President intent on burning the house down as he exits.”
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, a Republican, tweeted during the siege on Wednesday, “Today's events are the unfortunate but inevitable consequence when elected officials fail to stand for truth.”
Holt on Tuesday thanked Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe for refusing to support challenges to the electoral votes. Inhofe is the only member of the seven-person, all-Republican Oklahoma delegation who has announced opposition to the effort.
Inhofe was safe in an undisclosed location during the siege.
“My staff and I are safe and grateful to all law enforcement for risking their safety to protect us,” the senator said in a tweet. “This violence and disrespect for our Constitution and our republic is unacceptable and must stop now.”
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, announced Wednesday that he would support the challenges. Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Tulsa, is supporting the challenges. Lucas has not announced a position.
Cole released a statement Wednesday evening, saying, “I am outraged by the lawless protests that unfolded at the United States Capitol today. While Americans have the right to passionately voice their views and peacefully dissent in protest, I strongly condemn the perpetrators of this destructive and violent activity. Such shameful behavior runs contrary to upholding and respecting the constitutional rule of law and threatens the preservation of our great Republic. This is not the American way.”
Trent Shores, the U.S. Attorney f or the Northern District of Oklahoma, based in Tulsa, tweeted that he would prosecute anyone from his district who “traveled to DC to commit these violent criminal acts ... We take an oath to protect the Constitution against all enemies foreign & domestic.”