COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Ohio political officials, both those in the state and those who were at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, have reacted to protests in Washington.
Gov. Mike DeWine called protesters entering the Capitol and disrupting debate over Electoral College votes an “embarrassment” that “must stop immediately.”
“This is an embarrassment to our country. This must stop immediately. The President should call for the demonstrators to leave our Capitol Building. The final step in the constitutional process of electing our president has been disrupted. The stopping of the count of the Electoral College votes has occurred because the security of the U.S. Capitol has been breached by a violent mob. As a nation of laws, this is simply not acceptable. Lawlessness is not acceptable. This is an affront to our Constitution and everything we hold dear. Those who breached the Capitol breached the Constitution. Peaceful demonstrations outside the Capitol are an exercise of the demonstrators’ First Amendment rights. Stopping the constitutional process by which we elect the president is not.”
Gov. Mike DeWine
“Stop the violence. Support Capitol Police,” tweeted Rep. Jim Jordan, a supporter of President Donald Trump, who spoke to a group of his supporters hours before the protests began.
Jordan later issued a statement that read, “Americans support peaceful protests, First Amendment activity, and the men and women of law enforcement. What happened today is wrong and is not what America is about.”
Rep. Joyce Beatty represents Ohio’s 3rd District that includes parts of Franklin County. Members of Congress were evacuated from the House Chamber when the first protesters breached the Capitol.
“Protestors have a right to be heard – a right that I’ve fought overseas for – but there is a difference between protesting and rioting,” wrote Rep. Steve Stivers (R, 15th District). “Destruction and lawlessness are not acceptable.
“Many of those protesting today are carrying flags in support of the Thin Blue Line and law enforcement – I’m calling on everyone at the Capitol to obey the law and follow all instructions given by Capitol police and other law enforcement.”
Rep. Troy Balderson (R, 12th District) thanked the police for acting quickly to keep Congress safe. He also condemned the violence, calling it “un-American.”
Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown’s wife, journalist Connie Schultz, tweeted that the Senator is “locked in Senate chamber, but safe.”
Brown himself called for the violence to end for the sake of the workers within the Capitol.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) spoke of the “right to protest peacefully” but not violently.
Rep. David Joyce (R, 14th District) and Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R, 2nd District) spoke of law and order while denouncing the violence.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted:
In a statement Wednesday evening, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost:
“The rule of law means the same rules for everybody. Those of us who called for prosecution of the people who stormed the federal courthouse in Portland must apply the same demand to those who stormed the Capitol today. The color of your skin or the slogan upon your banner must not change what is and is not acceptable.
“Let all of us in Ohio remain peaceful. Do not let a sense of injustice produce more injustice.”