Republican lawmakers condemned the violence that transpired after a pro-President Donald Trump rally in Washington on Nov. 14. while calling on the president to take action.
Members of Congress condemned the violence.
“The reports, videos, and images of assaults and potentially life-threatening altercations against supporters of President Trump is the furthest thing from unity and healing,” Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) said in a statement.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) wrote on Twitter: “In the light of day, tremendous crowds of Americans peacefully rallied in Washington in support of [Trump]. Then in the cover of darkness, dozens of Antifa thugs launched violent attacks in the streets. Conservatives will not be intimidated by cowards!”
Antifa is a far-left, anarcho-communist network. Members of Antifa were responsible for some of the violence, according to reporters on the ground.
“Democrats and their cowardly media puppets have refused all year to condemn the violence and riots. Now, cities are boarded up, not out of fear of conservatives but out of fear of the radical left,” Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) wrote in a tweet.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) shared on social media a photo of Black Lives Matter activists throwing liquid and fireworks at people dining outside. “The unchecked leftwing violence in the streets of DC is a direct consequence of its Democrat mayor’s ideologically-driven refusal to enforce the law. DC statehood would be a disaster for our country,” he wrote.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, hasn’t publicly commented and her office hasn’t released a statement. Bowser’s spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) wrote on Twitter: “Supporters of the President have every right to peacefully rally, just as his opponents. The physical violence we’re witnessing the past few hours in D.C. targeting his supporters is disgusting.”
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) wrote on Twitter: “Last night [Trump’s] supporters were attacked and beaten by left wing mobs on the streets of DC. Where is the media outrage? Why aren’t Democrat leaders condemning it? Political violence has no place in America. I’ve seen its consequences firsthand.” Scalise suffered near-fatal injuries when a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) opened fire on group of Republicans, wounding five people including two Capitol Police officers, a GOP staffer, and a lobbyist in 2017.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) was among those seeking action from the president.
“Mr. President ... Send in the military to restore order,” he said.
A review of Twitter posts from all senators and representatives showed only two Democrats speaking about the rally. Neither addressed the violence.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) shared a video of rallygoers without masks, writing: “Thousands of shockingly stupid people at the ‘Million MAGA March’. (Notice it’s thousands?). ‘Would you like a side of Covid with that turkey?’”
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) also dismissed crowd-size estimates, writing, “Actual crowd estimates put the number of people at a few thousand, a bit more than the Juggalo March in 2017.”
