Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.), who was in the House chamber Wednesday afternoon as a mob attempted to storm it, condemned the situation as “an obscene attack on our democracy.”
The Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor said Capitol Police barricaded the doors, and members of Congress sheltered in place.
“Once we had a secure exit, we left the Capitol and I am now in a secure location,” she tweeted at 3:40 pm, adding “we will prevail.”
Once we had a secure exit, we left the Capitol and I am now in a secure location. This has been an obscene attack on our democracy, but we will prevail. 2/2
— Rep. Mikie Sherrill (@RepSherrill) January 6, 2021
Early reports out of Washington said one person had been shot and several others injured. Television networks showed a mob inside both chambers of Congress; one photo showed a rioter with his feet propped on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk; another showed someone in the well of the Senate.
President-elect Joe Biden decried the chaos as an “unprecedented assault, unlike anything we’ve seen in modern times, an assault on the citadel of democracy…an assault on the rule of law, on the most sacred of American undertakings, the doing of the people’s business.”
Biden called on President Trump to go on television and demand an “end to this siege,” saying the words of a president matter and suggesting Trump’s were “borderline sedition.”
“At their best, the words of a president can inspire. At their worst, they can incite,” Biden said.
The stunning scenes unfolded after Trump, addressing a rally of supporters, continued his baseless charges of election fraud, peppered with a litany of grievances about the media and his opponents, including Republicans.
Congress had been in the process of certifying the election results–which Republicans were maneuvering to challenge.
Trump tweeted at 3:13 pm:
I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
From the White House an hour later, the president tweeted a video repeating that his “landslide” victory was stolen, and asking his followers to “go home, we love you, you’re very special… I know how you feel, but go home, and go home in peace.”
Twitter prevented replies, retweets, and likes on the video tweet, citing “a risk of violence” and stating that Trump’s “claim of election fraud is disputed.”
How security forces failed to protect the Capitol is a question sure to receive intense scrutiny as Inauguration Day approaches.
There were no reports of trouble across Morris County on Wednesday afternoon, said Sheriff James Gannon, who acknowledged his team was on heightened alert.
