Trump Urges Rioters at Capitol to Remain ‘Peaceful’

Zachary Evans
·2 min read

President Trump urged rioters who stormed the Capitol building on Wednesday to remain “peaceful,” with reports emerging that a woman was shot in the neck during the riots.

“I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence!” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”

Photographs from inside the Senate chamber showed an armed standoff between Capitol police and rioters. A woman was wheeled out of the Capitol with a gunshot wound to the neck, CNN reported, however further details of the incident were still unclear.

The president did not call for crowds to disperse, despite multiple lawmakers from both parties calling on Trump to do so.

“I haven’t seen anything like this since I was in Iraq in 2007 to 2008,” Representative Mike Gallagher (R., Wisc.), told reporters.

“This is the cost of countenancing an effort by Congress to overturn the election, and telling thousands of people that there is a legitimate shot of overturning the election today,” Gallagher said in a video he recorded while sheltering in place at the Capitol. “We have got to stop this. Mr. President, you have got to stop this.”

Responding to the riots, Virginia governor Ralph Northam said he was sending National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.

“My team and I are working closely with Mayor Bowser, Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Schumer to respond to the situation in Washington, D.C.,” Northam wrote on Twitter. “Per the Mayor’s request, I am sending members of the Virginia National Guard along with 200 Virginia State Troopers.”

Shortly after Northam’s announcement, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president had ordered National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the Capitol.

“We reiterate President Trump’s call against violence and to remain peaceful,” McEnany wrote on Twitter.

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