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Rep. Kinzinger on Capitol Rioting: ‘A Sick, Disgusting Day in American Democracy’


U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican representing Illinois’ 16th Congressional District, said he fled the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as pro-Trump rioters stormed and invaded the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday during a congressional count of electoral votes to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

“I’ve been saying that this was going to happen for weeks and you know, so I was on the floor and began to start to see that the perimeter was being breached and I saw some of the chatter on the Twitter calling this, ‘1776’ and ‘We’re gonna occupy the House,’” Kinzinger said. “So, I actually left the floor and went to a different area.”

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Kinzinger said he heard explosions at the Capitol.

A woman is reportedly dead after being shot inside the building as pro-Trump rioters overtook it, according to Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, which is investigating the incident.

"It’s a sick, disgusting day in American democracy and we’ll get through it and hopefully be stronger somehow for it,” Kinzinger said. “But in the meantime, we need to hang our heads in shame, especially those that have given false hope to people that somehow Congress had the ability to magically determine who the next president was.”

After several social media platforms removed a lackluster video statement from Trump praising the rioters and incorrectly claiming election fraud, Kinzinger said Trump was squarely to blame for the insurrection. 

“[Trump’s] rally today basically, it sounded to me like a call to arms, to occupy the Capitol and so he bears it all and even on Twitter, of late, saying, ‘This is what happens when you steal an election,’ – it’s the rantings of a madman,” he said,

Congress is expected to reconvene Wednesday night to complete the Electoral College vote.


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