By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Congressman Sam Graves says riots in Washington, D.C. are disturbing after angry supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol while Congress proceeded to certify the Electoral College victory of President-elect Joe Biden.
Graves describes the scene on Capitol Hill.
“Chaos and mess. It’s unfortunate, highly unfortunate that we’re seeing this,” Graves says. “This is not what we are as a democracy or a republic. It’s certainly not and this is not the way we solve disputes in this country. It’s terribly unfortunate.”
Graves has joined other Republicans in objecting to the certification of the presidential election, claiming voting irregularities which might border on fraud in several key states. Graves is quick to say he doesn’t believe it will change the outcome, but says it could lead to election reform in those states. He rejects charges it could be seen as Congress interfering with state sovereignty, insisting that the members of Congress are acting within constitutional parameters.
Still, Graves says emotions are high for Trump supporters who contend Biden cannot claim a legitimate victory.
“And I think people are upset about that and it just grew to a boiling point and I think that’s exactly what happened, but again this is not the way to solve disputes in the United States and it’s unfortunate,” Graves says.
Graves says Capitol police have protected members of Congress, though he worries that they might be in danger.
President Trump held a rally for tens of thousands of his supporters outside the White House on Wednesday, a rally in which he criticized his own Vice President, Mike Pence, for failing to prevent the certification of Biden’s win. Pence had told the president earlier he had no authority to stop the Electoral College count. After the rally, pro-Trump protestors headed to the Capitol.
Graves says Trump’s rhetoric during the rally contributed to the unrest.
“Oh, I think it has. I think it’s thrown gasoline on it.”
Graves adds Trump could go a long way to quelling the riot.
“President Trump needs to show some leadership and come out and do more than just Tweet to stop this,” according to Trump. “He has to show some leadership and he needs to do that and he needs to do it sooner rather than later.”
The riot forced lawmakers to flee the Capitol. It interrupted the Electoral College certification. The Washington, D.C., police chief says at least five weapons have been recovered and at least 13 people have been arrested so far in pro-Trump protests.
One woman died from a gunshot wound, and more than 1,000 National Guard members were mobilized to help restore order.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.