Reactions Pour in Locally, Nationally After Attack
Leaders at all levels of government offered reactions to the Capitol being breached last Wednesday by a mob loyal to President Donald Trump. The following is an edited selection from official statements.
• Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.: “The actions of those who have broken into the Capitol, punched police, broken barriers, and breached the chambers is reprehensible. Violence is never the answer and I condemn their actions. I also want to thank the Capitol Police for putting our safety before their own and protecting Congress and our staff. We live in the oldest and greatest democracy, and the actions of these individuals embarrassed our great land.”
• Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb.: “As Americans, we believe the rule of law and protection of civil liberties differentiate our nation as the greatest on earth. ... We are working to ensure concerns about the conduct of the presidential election in several states are heard through the existing legal process, and illegal disruptions of this process are unacceptable and not constructive.”
• Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb.: “These rioters have no constitutional right to harm law enforcement and storm our Capitol. We are a nation of laws, not some banana republic.”
• Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.: “Lies have consequences. This violence was the inevitable and ugly outcome of the President’s addiction to constantly stoking division. Americans are better than this: Americans aren’t nihilists. Americans aren’t arsonists. Americans aren’t French revolutionaries taking to the barricades. This is not how we peacefully transfer power. The American people are tough, our Constitutional order is strong, and we will meet this moment with strength and grace.”
• Acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen: “The violence at our Nation’s Capital Building is an intolerable attack on a fundamental institution of our democracy.”
• Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts: “What is happening at the U.S. Capitol is unacceptable. I condemn the violence in the strongest possible terms. Peaceful protest is the American way. Violence and destruction of property are not.”
• Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson: “Today’s violent assault on our U.S. Capitol is an affront to the principles of our Constitution. We are a nation of laws that are designed to maintain order and protect our freedoms. These freedoms include the right to peacefully protest, but lawlessness by any individual or organization cannot be tolerated. We as a people are better than this. We must live up to the greatness of this nation and not submit to lawless impulses.”
• Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert: “The rioting today at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., strikes at the very heart of the American ideals we all cherish. These shameful actions jeopardize our nation’s most important foundations of self-rule, freedom, democracy, and lawful conduct. The lawlessness and those involved should be condemned by all Americans. I am also angry and heartbroken that people around the world will view our nation with contempt as a result. America is better, much better, than this. As our country turns to new leadership in Washington, I hope and pray that political division recedes, and a more cooperative spirit can lift up our great country.”
• Lincoln Mayor Gaylor Baird: “The peaceful transition of power is fundamental to our democracy. These acts of aggression at our nation’s Capital are antithetical to our values. I join leaders on both sides of the aisle and at all levels of government in calling for an end to the violence and for allowing the final certification of the electoral college.”
• National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien: “Violence has absolutely no place in our democracy. I applaud the men and women of law enforcement and the National Guard, who are working to restore order and protect our institutions. Our country is better than what we saw today at our Capitol.”
• Former President George W. Bush: “Laura and I are watching the scenes of mayhem unfolding at the seat of our Nation’s government in disbelief and dismay. It is a sickening and heartbreaking sight. This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic – not our democratic republic. I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement. The violent assault on the Capitol – and disruption of a Constitutionally-mandated meeting of Congress – was undertaken by people whose passions have been inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes.”
• Former President Barack Obama: “History will rightly remember today’s violence at the Capitol, incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election, as a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation. But we’d be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise. For two months now, a political party and its accompanying media ecosystem has too often been unwilling to tell their followers the truth — that this was not a particularly close election and that President-Elect Biden will be inaugurated on January 20. Their fantasy narrative has spiraled further and further from reality, and it builds upon years of sown resentments. Now we’re seeing the consequences, whipped up into a violent crescendo.”
• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo: “This is the final chapter of an incompetent, cruel, and divisive administration that has trampled on the Constitution and the rule of law at every turn, and we won’t let President Trump, the members of Congress who enable him, or the lawless mob that stormed our nation’s Capital steal our democracy. The election results are clear, and the will of the American people will be carried out.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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