Newhouse condemns storming of U.S. Capitol

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., said he was “disappointed, disgusted and horrified” at the storming of the U.S. Capitol Building on Wednesday by thousands of supporters of President Donald J. Trump.

“We can’t believe what’s happening, our national capitol building is being overrun by thousands of people, gunshots are being fired, teargas is being used, we are all in a state of disbelief,” Newhouse said during a short conference call Wednesday afternoon from a secure location in the Longworth House Office Building.

“This is not the United States of America, and this is not how we conduct business,” Newhouse said. “This is truly unfortunate for our country.”

Newhouse said violence of any kind from anyone — whether it is pro-Trump supporters or this summer’s Black Lives Matters protesters — is “absolutely unacceptable” as a way of attempting to secure political change or outcomes.

“I can’t say that strongly enough. We have a system in place that works only if we respect each other,” Newhouse said. “It’s part of the oath I take, and that I took a couple of days ago.”

Newhouse said he understands the “frustration and anger” of those protesting the outcome of the November 2020 election, but protesters engaging in violence damage the cause they support and the goals they seek to achieve.

“It’s not the way we change things,” Newhouse said. “Not by brute force, we are not a banana republic. We have a system in place in order to address the problems we face.”

He also said he wished Trump would have spoken to rioters earlier to end the violence.

“My criticism of the president is he should have stepped in earlier this afternoon to calm the crowd,” Newhouse said. “Only he could have done that, and he did eventually.”

Newhouse said the Capitol was stormed while a joint House and Senate session was beginning to hear objections to the presidential votes submitted by Arizona’s 11 electoral votes, which were cast for Democrat Joe Biden after he won a slim victory in the state’s popular vote in November.

“I was on the House floor. I wanted to be there because truly this is a historical day,” Newhouse said.

After getting an email that the Cannon House Office Building was being evacuated, Newhouse, his staff and his wife tried to make their way there but were blocked. They ended up “sequestered” in an office room in Longworth under guard by the Capitol Police, who he said were “outnumbered by many” protesters as they overran the Capitol.

“We have the Capitol Police, they’re doing an absolutely phenomenal job,” Newhouse said. “They have continued to do a yeoman’s job to keep us as safe as possible, with the help of many other agencies. I can’t say enough about the good work of the Capitol Police.”

Newhouse said some good can come out of this if Americans can calm down and decide to talk and work with each other as neighbors and fellow citizens rather than simply as political opponents.

“I would encourage people to don’t just listen to Facebook and Twitter, but listen to each other,” he said. “Talk to people that you live with and work with. Let’s work together as Americans.”

Completed in 1933, the Longworth House Office Building is south of the U.S. Capitol — on the House of Representatives side — and is one of several buildings containing offices for legislators and staff.

House and Senate office buildings are connected by underground tunnels and a small subway system to the U.S. Capitol.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.