Politics & Government

'Dangerous And Terrifying': Washington Reacts to Chaos In D.C.

Wednesday, a pro-Trump protest stormed the capitol in D.C. Here's how Washington's leaders are responding to the news.

Charles Woodman's profile picture
Charles Woodman, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
|
Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of e
Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory, thousands of people have gathered to show their support for President Donald Trump and his claims of e (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

WASHINGTON — It was a chaotic day Wednesday in Washington D.C., as hundreds of pro-Trump protesters stormed the nation's capitol in an attempt to stop congress from formalizing President-elect Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump.

Midday, the agitated mob pushed their way past Capitol Police and into the legislative building, forcing congress to evacuate. One person was killed in the resulting chaos. Hundreds more could be seen looting the legislature, posing for photos as they raided congressional offices and destroyed government property.

Eventually, at around 6 p.m. Eastern, law enforcement confirmed that rioters had left and that the Capitol building was secure. And while the riot is over, many have expressed concern that this unprecedented breach has crossed a line that cannot be uncrossed.

Washington's elected lawmakers have begun weighing in on the chaos since the breach began — many starting by confirming that they were safe as they and their teams were evacuated out of harm's way.

Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) confirmed shortly after noon that she had been safely evacuated from the Capitol, but is concerned by news the president had refused to deploy the National Guard to quell the insurrection.

Shortly after Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) also confirmed that she is safe, and echoed Schrier in condemning the violence.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) says she had been ordered to shelter in place, but that at one point she had had to wear a gas mask and duck to the ground to escape the violence. Like her contemporaries, Jayapal blamed the violence on President Trump, saying his repeated attacks on the electoral process fueled the attack.

Later in the evening Jayapal went on to call for the president's swift removal for office.

Jayapal is encouraging other leaders to invoke the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office, which several Trump administration cabinet members are considering according to CBS staff reports.

Meanwhile, Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) also confirms he and his staff were unharmed, and has seconded Jayapal's call to invoke the 25th amendment and oust Trump.

Shortly after Kilmer's announcement, Murray also tweeted that she supported invoking the 25th amendment.

There have been several reports that President Trump not only met with protesters before they stormed the legislature, but encouraged them to do so. Outrage over the president's actions were compounded by his failure to denounce the violence. Instead, Trump posted a video to Twitter asking rioters to leave the Capitol, but also repeatedly thanking them for their passion, calling them "special" and telling them he loved them. The video has since been removed by Twitter and Trump's account has been locked.

Unlike Trump, some Republicans did act quickly to call on the mob to stop their assault. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), a Republican who had supported the previous lawsuit to overturn the election and who had announced plans to object to Biden's victory, sent out a tweet calling on protesters to desist.

McMorris Rodgers later announced that she no longer objected to Biden's win.

Representative Dan Newhouse (R-WA), another Republican who also supported the Texas lawsuit and President Trump's efforts to call election security into question, also issued a brief message demanding an end to the violence.

Washingtonians in D.C. were not the only ones aghast at the riot. Governor Inslee, while dealing with a situation of his own at the governor's mansion in Olympia, also chimed in, denouncing the attack.

One of the first Washington legislators to respond to the breach was recently-elected Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (D-WA). The former mayor of Tacoma did not mince words, calling the breach an act of domestic terrorism, and blaming the president for inciting the mob to violence.

Later in the evening, Attorney General Bob Ferguson released a terse statement calling the riot an attempted coup, and an attack on democracy.

Similar remarks came from Seattle Council Member Tammy Morales, who called the breach a "day that will live in infamy."

Others noted that this was likely a long time coming, considering the President's past behavior. King County Executive Dow Constantine weighed in, calling the escalation to violence "utterly predictable."

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan called the breach "dangerous and terrifying" in a longer tweet thread early Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday afternoon, both the Washington Democratic and Republican Party heads issued statements condemning the violence at the capitol.

"Today’s events are unfathomable. I never thought I would see something like this in the greatest country in the history of the world," wrote Washington GOP Chairman Caleb Heimlich. "Violence, intimidation, and disruption of the business of the People’s House is wholly unacceptable, and it flies in the face of our nation’s foundational values."

The Democrat's statement goes one step further, and places the blame squarely on Trump and his enablers within the Republican Party.

"This is not new to the Republican Party under Trump, either here in Washington State or nationally," said Tina Podlodowski, the chair of the Washington State Democratic Party. "This is the culmination of four years of his dangerous, anti-democratic rhetoric. We’ve seen repeated instances of the embrace of this kind of extremist violence among the WA GOP, who have failed time and time again to condemn that behavior."

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Seattle