(Update: video, Merkley, Bentz statements added)
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) – Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation on Wednesday expressed shock and disbelief when violent protesters stormed into the U.S. Capitol and forced them to flee to safety.
“It’s like a third world country,” Rep. Suzanne Bonamici told The Oregonian / OregonLive. “Someone was shot in the Capitol. The Capitol windows were blown out. It’s amazing. ”
The Oregon Democrat, for safety reasons, did not want to disclose where Wednesday afternoon was, and only added that she is in a “closed” location outside the Capitol and is safe. She called on President Donald Trump to act swiftly to end the assault.
“He needs to turn it off now,” she said. “He must speak up and tell his people to retreat.”
Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Told reporters what it was like when the protesters broke in:
“No one is running on the floor of the room,” he said. “There is definitely no one coming on the scene, certainly no one is interrupting the speech. So it was very, very sudden, very unusual, and because we could hear noises, my assumption is that protesters entered the building. I mean it looks like the automatic response.
‘And the moment the vice-president was chased off the floor, the instructions were given to leave the room and then fix it immediately, to stay in the room. There was a feeling that yes, it’s just about protesters. ‘
New 2nd District Representative Cliff Bentz, R-Ore. – who last month joined those who called for a review of the alleged irregularities in the vote – said he was saddened by the events on Wednesday.
“I’m sad,” he told NewsChannel 21. ‘It is not right that we have violence at the front door of the Capitol. This is not the way we should do business here. And what is doubly sad is that we as Republicans are on the floor of the Senate and the floor of the House, which raises many of the issues.
“We went through the arguments in a very precise, thoughtful, practiced and educated way when the whole process ended with people penetrating their path – and I mean it, and they penetrated themselves,” he said.
Rep. Peter DeFazio said he had never seen anything like Wednesday’s violent protests and held Trump responsible for the chaos.
“This is their attempt to invalidate the election,” he said. “We are looking at an attempted coup that is being used by a minority of the Republican Party and Donald Trump.”
DeFazio spoke to the Capitol from his office building. Other members of the state’s congressional delegation reported that they were safe while condemning the attack.
Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer called the people storming the Capitol “domestic terrorists” encouraged by the Trump administration.
Later, Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Issued this statement:
“What is happening in our country’s Capitol today is a direct attack on democracy, a riot by insurgents that has been repelling the flames of fanaticism for four years. Every Republican lawmaker who shifts his efforts to overthrow a legitimate election has the responsibility for the violence at the heart of our democracy.
“All Americans must be able to safely elect members of the House and Senate in the knowledge that their views will be represented in the civil debate here in Congress without the mob ever interfering with the discussion.
“As a staunch defender of the First Amendment, I will always support peaceful protest, even if I do not agree with the views expressed. It is far from peaceful protest. But I thank the police in Capitol for their courage. “To protect all elected officials from criminal criminality. On the destruction of democracy. And I am very much looking forward to resuming the urgent work for our country as soon as possible.”