‘It’s an abomination.’ SLO County residents condemn pro-Trump attack on U.S. Capitol
As supporters of President Donald Trump mobbed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in a violent attempt to stop the electoral vote count, locals and visitors in San Luis Obispo largely condemned the siege — with some calling it “appalling” and “an abomination.”
“I understand (the Trump supporters) want to stand up for their beliefs,” Grass Valley resident Gavin Ross said. “But regardless, the system is the system and you got to let it do its thing.”
“I think people need to know how to lose,” he added.
Congress was in the process of certifying the win of President-elect Joe Biden when the mob forced its way into the Capitol.
As rioters smashed windows and pushed past security guards to gain entrance to the Capitol building, police told those in the House chambers to take off their American flag lapel pins so they wouldn’t be targeted and to be ready to put on gas masks as they tried to leave the room.
Many California lawmakers remained on lockdown in the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, though no injuries to members of Congress have been reported.
San Luis Obispo resident Sean Nagel said it’s understandable that people are upset about the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“There’s a lot of documented fraud and nobody’s really doing anything about it,” Nagel said. The U.S. Department of Justice has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election.
However, Nagel said, the Trump supporters should not have stormed the Capitol, but instead taken peacefully to the streets to protest.
Bill Swanson, a tourist from Santiago, Chile, said it is “crazy” what is happening in a place he once called home.
Swanson, who was born in New Jersey and lived in Washington, D.C., for a time, said he left the United States about 20 years ago.
”I was a Republican up until Trump,” Swanson said. “That President Trump did nothing to stop (the mob) it’s horrible, disgusting.”
San Luis Obispo resident Tanya Casarez said she felt the mob at the Capitol was “ridiculous.”
“There are peaceful ways to handle conflict.” Casarez said. “It just goes to show, in my opinion, (Trump) isn’t a leader.”
Other locals agreed.
“It’s sad to me that we have a leader inciting violence,” a San Luis Obispo woman who only identified herself as Janay said. “I was moved to tears about it.”
A man named Mike who was walking with her and also didn’t provide his last name said people who still support Trump “should be ashamed after today.”
Two Cal Poly students, Kylie White and Maya Alliare, compared the siege at the Capitol to the Black Lives Matter protests that took place across the country in 2020.
“I think it’s ridiculous that they can have Trump supporters doing that at D.C. and being disruptive and hurting other people, but there’s still no police out there with rubber bullets or anything like that,” White said. “Not like they did at the Black Lives Matter (protests). But (the Trump supporters) are actually actively harming people and using violence to get their word out.”
About 93% of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 were peaceful, according to a report by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
Some San Luis Obispo County residents took to social media to share their reactions to Trump supporters’ attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“It’s an abomination,” Paso Robles copywriter Melissa Godsey wrote via Twitter.
“I fear too many people are so entrenched in their beliefs that even this won’t awaken their conscience,” Godsey added. “I would like to hear our local ‘Protect’ groups openly denounce this violence so we can be assured nobody local will be similarly inspired.”
Kristin Horowitz, chief executive officer at Ascent Ventures in San Luis Obispo, tweeted that “It was clear this was going to happen for a while if you paid attention on Twitter.”
“The U.S. still stands,” she added. “The proceedings will go on when they get it carefully under control. My prayers for all in D.C.”
Staff writer Kaytlyn Leslie contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 3:24 PM.
