A number of elected officials across Wisconsin have reacted to Wednesday’s U.S. Capitol breach by rioters.
Some have echoed the same reactions by members of the state’s Congressional delegation with disgust over the actions taken by those who forced their way into the building, with others saying it was President Trump who had a hand in encouraging those actions.
Governor Tony Evers:
“As are so many Wisconsinites and Americans, I am watching these horrifying events unfold in Washington, D.C. in disbelief. The peaceful transfer of power is at the very heart of our government and our country. This is an attack on our democracy. Period.
“There must be swift, bipartisan condemnation in no uncertain terms–by the president, by elected officials who’ve sought to sow division and distrust in our election, by elected officials who’ve failed to unequivocally denounce these efforts, all of which fed into today’s events.
“We must be united in calling on these individuals to leave the U.S. Capitol and grounds immediately and peacefully. I’m praying for the safety of the elected officials, staffers, members of the press, and first responders, and for the speedy recovery of those injured.”
Attorney General Josh Kaul:
“It’s difficult to believe what we’re seeing take place at the U.S. Capitol: a fascist riot incited by a lame-duck President desperately and illegitimately trying to cling to power based on absurd lies about the election that amount to voter fraud McCarthyism.
“Those responsible must be held accountable for what appears to be a seditious conspiracy under federal law.
“Once Congress has fulfilled its duty of certifying the results of the presidential election, it should immediately begin proceedings to remove the President from office. Every day he remains in office is a threat to the republic.”
Wisconsin Senate Republicans:
The Wisconsin Senate Republican statement on the violence at the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/Yun6FiBZrV
— Wisconsin Senate Republicans (@WisSenGOP) January 6, 2021
State Senator Chris Larson:
A treasonous mob tried to disrupt the peaceful transition of power in Washington today. They will not succeed, and the people who enabled them, including @SenRonJohnson, should resign. pic.twitter.com/QTw2fIWjHS
— Senator Chris Larson (@SenChrisLarson) January 6, 2021
State Representative Robyn Vining:
“Democracy will prevail.
“Today’s violence at the United States Capitol is an attack on our democracy, but our democracy will prevail. I condemn the violence in all forms, including dangerous rhetoric escalating toward violence. It has been, and remains, the job of elected officials to behave in ways that perpetuate, not hinder, democracy, and we need leaders on all sides of the aisle to join together right now in one voice.
“We can have confidence in the election. It was free, fair, and transparent. Voters – not political parties, candidates, or legislative committees, or armed protestors storming government buildings – decide our elections. No evidence has been provided that would suggest that the election results are fraudulent. And this armed insurrection should be condemned at every level, from every elected official, of every political party.
“We the People, of the United States of America, are united by a shared future. We are committed to a peaceful transition of power.
“Democracy will prevail.”
Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell Lucas:
“Today, as our democracy was exercising its authority to certify the 2020 Presidential election results, individuals stormed the United States Capitol Building, causing a halt to the Electoral College certification process. Law enforcement quickly evacuated the members of Congress and the people inside the Capitol to safety. Several law enforcement agencies in the Washington D.C. area are assisting in restoring calm in our nation’s capital so that the democratic process of a peaceful transition of power can take place.
Closer to home, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has been in communication with our Federal, state and local law enforcement partners to ensure against a breach of the peace in Milwaukee County. The MCSO has not received any credible threat or information to believe that there is a threat to the tranquility and safety of our area. The MCSO will continue to communicate with our law enforcement partners and monitor multiple sources to ensure the safety of our people and institutions.
For almost two hundred and fifty years, our democracy has stood as a bright, shining “city on a hill” as once echoed by former President Ronald Reagan. It has stood against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and has withstood disasters, pandemics and economic calamities. Our country will withstand this challenge to our democracy and continue to be the country whose resolve and resilience are the envy of the world.”
Milwaukee Common Council President Cavalier Johnson:
If anyone needs to see the double standard in America surrounding white privilege and race, just look at the scores of protesters who broke into the United States Capitol and stopped the certification of a duly elected president based on lies fed to them by Donald Trump and his enablers in Congress.
The President has dangerously morphed the Republican Party, fractured the sense of reality of many citizens, and threatened the fabric of America. If these people were Black or any other minority group and at the Capitol for any other reason, the President would have called them dangerous and lawless thugs who deserve to be roughed up by law enforcement.
This isn’t democracy — this is a vanity coup attempt all to stroke the ego of one man who should have never been entrusted with the most powerful position in America, and the world, because he showed us who he was on the day that he came down that escalator — and years before that even.
Democracy can be fragile. The people who broke into “The People’s House” are putting that on display.
Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly:
This will possibly be the cause of the end of my political career but I have to put this out because I am so upset. I am…
Posted by Shawn Reilly on Wednesday, January 6, 2021