Local political leaders weigh in on Wednesday's Capitol attack

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Thursday after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of Thursday after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday.

Local political leaders weighed in Thursday on Wednesday's invasion of the U.S. Capitol by a violent group of President Trump's supporters that President-elect Joe Biden called a "riotous mob -- insurrectionists, domestic terrorists."

The mob stormed the Capitol in an apparent attempt to overturn the results of the Nov. 3, 2020, presidential election, leading some officials to call it an attempted coup.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, of Hot Springs, who represents Arkansas' 4th Congressional District, released the following statement about Wednesday's events:

"While members of Congress were peaceably and constitutionally debating the electoral votes (Wednesday), rioters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol, resulting in death, destruction and a national disgrace. This is unacceptable, and I condemn these actions in the strongest terms.

"The Constitution explicitly outlines that federal elections are state legislatures' responsibility, giving Congress a final check with a provision to object to electors. I've said all along that we should let our court system work, and I supported a variety of legal challenges to investigate election fraud allegations. However, I did not object to the final count of electors. Last night's failed votes in Congress did nothing to change the outcome of the Nov. 3 election, nor could they have changed it had they passed. As much as we may not like the results of an election, resorting to mob rule is wholly un-American. We can -- we must -- be better than this.

"Through some of our country's darkest days, we've maintained a peaceful transition of power. This year should be no different. We cannot flirt with undoing the very foundation of our Constitution and pretend that it will all work out in the end.

"My oath was not to defend a party or a person, it was to defend the Constitution of the United States. I will never stop fighting for the Constitution and conservative ideals in Congress, and I know many of you feel as though your voice isn't being heard. It is, but changes must be done through the appropriate channels. Now, more than ever, we need to demonstrate strong leadership and work to restore trust in our election process through independent audits, oversight and more.

"This much is clear: what happened yesterday on many different levels must never happen again."

Local Democratic leaders called on fellow Republicans to condemn the violence at the Capitol.

Tom Dillard, chairman of the Hot Spring County Democratic Committee, emailed a statement saying he "has denounced the attack on the U.S. Capitol by die-hard Trump supporters on Wednesday." Dillard said "many local Democrats have contacted me expressing outrage at what can be called a failed coup d'etat."

The statement said "this attack on the legitimate transfer of power should not be a matter of partisan debate." It noted Dillard "had not heard from any local Republicans, but that he invited Republicans and every patriotic citizen to join him in a joint condemnation of the violence in our national Capitol.

"Surely we can agree on this simple act of political civility."

Hayden Shamel, chairman of the Democratic Party of Garland County, also released a statement, saying local Democrats are "appalled at the violent events by pro-Trump rioters that desecrated our nation's Capitol today. We call on the Republican Party of Garland County and all Republican elected officials in the Hot Springs area to vehemently condemn the heinous criminal acts committed by these individuals that purposely sought to erode the foundation of our cherished democracy."

"As Democrats, but more importantly as Americans, we look forward to one day in the future when our politics are no longer fueled by extreme partisanship, and instead are ruled by measured moderation and the resolution to work together to make things better for all of our citizens," she said.

"Trump supporters have been rallying and peacefully protesting government overreach and the irrational and overzealous investigations orchestrated by the Democrat Party since the election of ... President Trump in 2016," Matt McKee, chairman of the Republican Party of Garland County, said in a statement released Thursday.

"Democrats have done everything in their considerable power to usurp and destroy an American president. In four years they have yet to provide one shred of evidence that he cheated on his taxes or colluded with foreign governments.

"They have proved nothing. Trump is still standing and he is still our president. In that four years, the Democrats have rioted and protested. They have besieged federal buildings and burned businesses. They have beaten and killed police officers and citizens.

"Statism, progressivism, liberalism, however you label it, it is a mental disorder. It is destructive of everything that the American dream stands for. It is anathema to what has made this country the beacon of freedom to a starving world and it cannot be allowed to succeed," McKee said.

"They are desperate. My question is who benefited by stopping the Constitutional process already underway and preventing free debate and terrorizing our elected representatives? Anyone who damaged public property or gained unlawful entry should be prosecuted. This is just another show."

"Trump supporters are peaceful," Jim Keary, secretary of the Republican Party of Garland County, said in a statement released Thursday. "They are conservatives. They are law-abiding. Most look like you and me. The picture that was portrayed by the media of the mostly peaceful demonstration in Washington, D.C., did not show the accurate picture of the majority of Trump supporters.

"I understand that agitators infiltrated their ranks and that they were the cause for most of the damage. Those that did any damage or trespassed should be arrested and prosecuted.

"I am not a conspiracy theorist. I worked in Washington as a writer and editor and a local government official for 25 years. I worked with police officials -- city and federal -- and I cannot believe that they allowed this demonstration to get as far as it did. I know and have seen that the police have that city wired, especially between the White House and the U.S. Capitol, where everything happened.

"They are experts in crowd control. They had the intelligence and the manpower to stop a crowd that size from moving around the city. But they didn't do it this time. Why did the police stand down?"

Keary later clarified over the phone that a friend who had spoken with people who were there told him that those who were there believed there were outside agitators. He said violence would have been out of character for Trump supporters.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that lawmakers from both parties "have pledged to investigate law enforcement's actions and questioned whether a lack of preparedness allowed a mob to occupy and vandalize the building." The head of the U.S. Capitol police defended the department's response, saying the officers acted "valiantly," while the mayor of D.C. called the police response "a failure," according to that same report.

Reggie Cowan, chairman of the Garland County Tea Party, said in a phone interview he condemns any violence on government property, no matter who commits it, and those that do should be punished. However, he said he thinks those who showed up just to exercise their First Amendment rights shouldn't be lumped in with those who turned violent.

The Associated Press reported that, during remarks in Wilmington, Del., on Thursday, Biden said people should not call the hundreds of Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol "protesters." Rather, Biden said, they are "a riotous mob -- insurrectionists, domestic terrorists."

Biden said Trump is guilty of "trying to use a mob to silence the voices of nearly 160 million Americans" who voted in November, the AP reported.

The Sentinel-Record also attempted to contact the Republican Party of Hot Spring County for comment, but had not received a response by presstime.

AP Photo/Susan Walsh
President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Thursday to announce key nominees for the Justice Department.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Thursday to announce key nominees for the Justice Department.

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