CT reactions: Mayhem in D.C. ‘a dark day in American history’

Connecticut politicians, political scientists and “regular people” of diverse political persuasions — including some proud supporters of President Donald Trump — reacted with disgust to the mayhem at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, with one statewide group calling it a “direct assault on American democracy.”

“As the Executive Committee of an organization made of Republicans and Democrats, representing communities of all kinds throughout the state of Connecticut, we are outraged and dismayed by the direct assault on American democracy and on our representative institutions of government in our nation’s capital today,” wrote the executive committee of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

“For the sake of our nation, our democracy, and each of our communities, we call on all Americans to accept the results of a free and fair election and allow the United

States of America to move forward with a peaceful transfer of power, as we have done for more than two hundred years,” the statement read.

It was signed by CCM President and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, CCM First Vice President and Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, CCM Second Vice

President and Wolcott Mayor Thomas Dunn, Portland First Selectman Susan Bransfield, North Haven First Selectman Michael Freda, Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi and Ansonia Chief Fiscal Officer Kurt Miller.

In Middletown, former Repub

lican Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said he didn’t know any locals who joined the rally.

He didn’t condone the efforts of those who participated in the violence that followed the protest, much as he didn’t during riots, looting and other violence in places such as Portland and Minneapolis this summer and fall, he said.

“When you let people take the law in their own hands with impunity, this is what it has come to — where people feel like walking to the Capitol of the United States and try to trash the place? Some of the people rising up now were suspiciously silent when those were going on,” Giuliano said.

He was disappointed to see the way people vented their frustrations. “When you set the standards low, you can’t be surprised when people live down to them,” Giuliano said.

From what Giuliano had seen earlier, most of the protesters were “standing around, waving their flags — which is fine.”

In New Haven, Mayor Justin Elicker said he watched the drama, which included a mob from the protest breaching the Capitol, taking over the halls of Congress, with one even sitting at Speaker of the

House Nancy Pelosi’s desk — and at least one protester shot and killed on Capitol grounds — unfold with “a combination of outrage, sadness, and disbelief.”

Calling Wednesday “a dark day in American history,” Elicker said, “I am proud to lead the City of New Haven, where we have a history of peaceful protests, respect for each other, and enough dignity to recognize the results of an election, even if it did not go our way.”

To University of New Haven associate professor of political science and legal studies Chris Haynes, it did not come as a total surprise.

“This has been a long time coming, in a sense,” Haynes said. “The president, his sympathizers on Capitol Hill, his supporters, have really been stoking the angst of his supporters for quite a long time — just to retain power, to be honest.

“That’s been going on since Hillary and Trump were going at it,” Haynes said. “I think the chickens have come home roost, so to speak. ... I think there’s been a lot of egg on the face of a lot of (Trump) supporters” who did not speak out earlier, he said.

“These people went way further” than any have done before “and did something that I think Americans were not quite ready for,” Haynes said.

Mark Christman Jr. of East Haven, a proud Trump supporter who works as a quality manager in the firearms industry, didn’t like what he saw Wednesday at all.

“It is pretty sad that it’s deteriorating,” Christman said. “I do have some reservations, looking at some of the snapshots I’ve seen, little snippets of video floating around on Facebook ... and I look at the people and they don’t look to me like typical Trump supporters.

“They remind me of some of the stuff that went on Washington in the fall” during the Black Lives Matter protests, Christman said.

He had mixed feelings about what’s been going on in recent weeks.

“Do I really feel that the election was stolen? I don’t think so,” he said. “Do I think there was some improper voting going? Why, yes.”

But “I would like to see some calmer heads prevail in Washington,” Christman said. “... I do think that the concern of the Republicans should be heard.”

Another Trump supporter, Paul Ferro, a laid-off construction manager who lives in West Haven, said he was “personally totally disgusted — and I’ve been disgusted because I’ve seen many, many Trump rallies and they’ve been peaceful.”

He said it bothered him “that a peaceful rally that started off really positive and really peaceful” turned into something darker. “Trump supporters are generally very peaceful,” Ferro said.

Ferro speculated that the violence may have come from agitators rather than Trump-supporting protesters.

He charged that there “was a lot of video on Twitter” that showed as much.

Ferro didn’t rule out the possibility that there were Trump supporters at fault, however. “If there’s Trump supporters in there, too, then they should be arrested and investigated,” he said.

Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski of Madison said he was “sickened to see the events at the Capitol today.”

“Unlawful, violent acts like these are absolutely unacceptable and those responsible should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all in harm’s way.”

His wife, Amy Stefanowski, Madison Republican Town Committee chairwoman, said, “Mob rule is not democracy. We are a nation of laws. This siege in DC is unacceptable and disgraceful. This is not how change is affected. This is not the way.”

Todd Petrowski of Branford, organizer of the Boaters for Trump and Blue Lives Matter Boat Parade Sept. 26, 2020, at Branford

Point, also saw negative similarities between Wednesday’s events and the rioting last year.

“It’s really no different than what’s been going on the past months. When they had 100 days of rioting in Portland, burning the cities. Then it was up in Detroit burning buildings and looting.”

“It ruined lives,” he said of the mob storming the Capitol building Wednesday. “It’s pointless, it’s going to ruin people’s lives.”

However, he said he understood why it happened.

“You get put in a corner. Eventually you’re going to snap. I think that’s what these people did down here. You had enough of it, how much more could you really take.”

In terms of the 2020 election — the point of Wednesday’s protests, with the general sentiment that President Donald Trump actually won but voter fraud gave the win to former Vice President Joe Biden, Petrowski said “We don’t know if it was fixed or not. It seemed like it was. No one knows for sure.”

“People are passionate” he said about Trump supporters. “No president in my lifetime — and I’m 42 years old” has been as popular, he said.

Torrington resident Angaza Mwando said Wednesday’s events were “rather disturbing.”

“People are working on coming together, and using the electoral process to do that, and to see this is somewhat disheartening,” Mwando said. “It shows what we have to work on. We need to bring the country together, and bring people together. We have to work it out, in peace and love and harmony.”

Democrat First Selectman Gordon Ridgway of Cornwall said, “It’s hard to understand what, exactly, is happening. It’s one of those times when you’re not sure what you’re really seeing. It’s almost on a 9/11 scale, but it’s not external this time, it’s internal.”

Seeing people crowding into the Capitol building was something Ridgway didn’t expect.

“When our national leaders are put in jeopardy, there’s something really wrong,” he said of lawmakers being forced to hunker down amid security in the Capitol. “There’s things you just don’t do. This is way over the line. The stakes couldn’t be higher, because it’s a fight for our democracy.”

He was disturbed when he learned that a mob had done damage to the interior of the Capitol building.

“When you leave office, you leave, “he said. “You don’t tear the house down on your way out.”