Published 12:40 IST, January 7th 2021
Trump 'incited insurrection': Republican Senator slams President over US capitol siege
Republican Utah Senator Mitt Romney on January 6 (local time) assailed out-voted US President Donald Trump after people stormed inside the US Capitol building.
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Republican Utah Senator Mitt Romney on January 6 (local time) assailed out-voted US President Donald Trump after people stormed inside the US Capitol building. Romney not only accused Trump of ‘inciting’ the riots but also called it ‘insurrection’. The lawmaker from Trump’s party had powerful remarks for the unprecedented violence that happpned inside the federal building.
According to Romney, the lawmakers objecting the vote “will be remembered for their role in this shameful episode. That will be their legacy.” The Utah senator called Trump a “selfish man” and because “injured pride”. Further, while addressing the six senators who continue to promote the fallacy that the November election was ‘stolen’ and ‘rigged’. Romney said that the best way to show respect to the dissatisfied voters is to ‘tell them the truth’.
Romney said, "Now we gather due to a selfish man's injured pride. And the outrage of supporters who he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning."
He added, “What happened here today was an insurrection. Incited by the president of the United States” and added that it was a “legitimate democratic election" and those who keep objecting "will forever be seen as being complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy."
We must not be intimidated or prevented from fulfilling our constitutional duty. I urge my colleagues to move forward with completing the electoral count, to refrain from further objections, and to unanimously affirm the legitimacy of the presidential election.
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) January 6, 2021
US Capitol seize: ‘Dark day for America’
What should have been just the next step in the democratic process of US elections in the country turned out to a ‘dark day for America’ with thousands of Trump supporters swarming inside the US Capitol. Both House and Senate had convened to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win. Even though the federal building has now been secured, at least four people have died, 52 have been arrested and over a dozen police officers have been injured in the violence, sights of which sent chills down most people across the globe.
The entire world watched when Trump supporters broke inside one of the most iconic American buildings engulfing the city in a chaos. As per reports, it was shortly after 1 PM ET on January 6 that pro-Trump protesters pushed through the barriers set up along the building and some even called the officers “traitors” for doing their job. As per law enforcement officers’ account, nearly 90 minutes afterwards, the demonstrators got into the building. Following which house and Senate doors were blocked.
Further, an armed standoff even reportedly took place at the House front door around 3 PM ET, and police officers had their guns drawn at an individual who was trying to breach it. Police reportedly said that both law enforcement and Trump supporters had deployed chemical irritants during the hours-long occupation of the US Capitol building. DC police also said that two pipe bombs were recovered, one outside the Democratic National Committee and one outside the Republican National Committee.
12:40 IST, January 7th 2021