Published 08:12 IST, January 7th 2021
Bill Clinton says unprecedented assault on US Capitol fueled by Trump's 'poison politics'
Former President Bill Clinton deplored the attack on the US Capitol saying that the violence was fuelled by years of “poison politics” and lit by Donald Trump
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Former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday deplored the attack on the US Capitol saying that the violence was fuelled by four years of “poison politics”. The former Democrat leader lashed out at the incumbent government and outgoing President Donald Trump for inciting violence. Clinton said in a statement that the unprecedented assault on the Capitol was the outcome of a combination of deliberate disinformation that created distrust in the system and set Americans against one another.
He wrote, “The match was lit by Donald Trump and his most ardent enablers, including many in Congress, to overturn the results of an election he lost. The election was free, the count was fair, the result is final. We must complete the peaceful transfer of power our Constitution mandates.” Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary lost a bitter election to Trump in 2016 and conceded to him immediately. However, Trump has refused to accept his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in the November elections and has attempted to cast him as an illegitimate president.
Today we faced an unprecedented assault on our Capitol, our Constitution, and our country.
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) January 7, 2021
The assault was fueled by more than four years of poison politics spreading deliberate misinformation, sowing distrust in our system, and pitting Americans against one another.
If that’s who we really are, we must reject today’s violence, turn the page, and move forward together—honoring our Constitution, remaining committed to a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) January 7, 2021
US Capitol under Seige
Trump had encouraged his supporters to come to Washington to fight Congress’ formal approval of Biden’s win. He held a rally earlier on Wednesday and urged his supporters to march to the Capitol, telling them to “get rid of the weak Congresspeople” and saying, “get the weak ones to get out; this is the time for strength”. Following which, thousands of angry supporters of Trump stormed the US Capitol and clashed with police, resulting in multiple injuries and interrupting a constitutional process to affirm Joe Biden's victory in the November presidential election.
READ | DC Police Chief Says Pro-Trump Protesters Used Chemical Irritants On Police To Break Into Capitol
The police, outnumbered by the protesters, had a tough time in managing the crowd on Wednesday, as hundreds of protesters breached security and entered the Capitol building, where members of the Congress were going through the process of counting and certifying the Electoral College votes. Both the House and Senate and the entire Capitol were placed under a lockdown. Members of the US Congress were asked to get hold of the gas masks under their seats as the police resorted to tear gas to disperse protestors. Multiple officers have been injured with at least who one transported to the hospital, CNN reported, citing sources. According to the Associated Press, a woman who was shot inside the Capitol during the violent pro-Trump protest has died.
08:12 IST, January 7th 2021