SLO County officials respond to Trump mob’s Capitol assault — it’s ‘insanity,’ ‘treasonous act’
San Luis Obispo County officials on Wednesday expressed shock and dismay after a mob supporting President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building — although Republican leaders came short of condemning the president for inciting the insurrection.
Trump had encouraged supporters to march to the Capitol as members of Congress were in the process of certifying the Electoral College results following the 2020 presidential election.
Both chambers of Congress were evacuated about 2:45 p.m., and rioters pushed through police lines to enter the Capitol, which has been closed to visitors during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a McClatchy DC story.
The Trump supporters broke windows, had a standoff with police outside the House chambers and made their way into the Senate chambers and Congressional offices.
Central Coast congressman in Capitol building during riot
Democratic U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, who represents the Central Coast, was in the Capitol building as the rioters shut down proceedings.
Reached by phone from his office on Wednesday afternoon, Carbajal said he and his staff were safe.
Due to COVID-19 precautions, most non-essential members of the House and Senate had been encouraged to participate in the election certification proceedings from their offices, Carbajal said.
He was in his office with a single staff member for the hearing when it was derailed.
At the height of the riot outside the building, members of the “sizable” mob had broken windows and forced their way into the building, Carbajal said.
“This is surreal,” he said. “This is what you see in countries whose democracies are immature.”
Carbajal placed blame for the chaos “squarely on the shoulders” of Trump.
“I’m disappointed and outraged at the shameful actions of our president, who refuses to accept reality,” he said. “And now we have this violence. Unfortunately, we have colleagues in the House and Senate (who) are aiding and abetting him and hurting our democracy — it’s a shame.”
As he spoke to The Tribune, more reinforcements had arrived to assist the Capitol police, and he expected the crowd to thin out shortly.
“I hope this was just a minor delay and we can get back to (congressional proceedings) today,” he said.
He speculated that Capitol police officers may have underestimated the mob’s abilities, but he applauded officers’ “heroic” actions to defend the building.
“Thank you for the work you’re doing for our democracy,” Carbajal said to the officers.
While the riot was destructive, on Jan. 20, “this president will be out of the White House,” he said.
“Has it done damage to democracy? Absolutely,” Carbajal said. “Is it fatal? Absolutely not.”
SLO County Republicans respond to mob takeover of Capitol
On Wednesday, the San Luis Obispo County Democrat Party called on local Republicans to condemn the riot at the Capitol Building.
“The silence of local Republicans and the SLO County Republican Party is deafening,” the party posted on Facebook.
The San Luis Obispo County Republican Party has not yet shared an official statement on the situation in Washington, D.C., but the group did share a link to the website HangTheCensors.com for people to watch live footage of the D.C. events.
The website, which claims to gather “top stories from independent journalists across the web,” shared several articles labeling the rioters as “Patriots protesting the outright treason, corruption and fraud of the ruling class.”
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, the live broadcast showed a man speaking about the reasons for “the gathering” in D.C. and labeling it as an effort to “express our dedication as a people” to our style of government.
A request for comment from the SLO County Republican Party had not been answered as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Republican state Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham called Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol building “madness” and “insanity” in a text message.
In a statement released shortly thereafter on social media, Cunningham called the rioters’ activities “disgraceful acts of political violence.”
“Our flag has been a symbol of liberty and freedom around the world for generations,” Cunningham wrote. “Our democratic institutions are stronger than any one person, or any one election result.”
He continued: “We must denounce violence as a means of political expression. I implore everyone involved to remember that they are Americans, first and foremost.”
County District Attorney Dan Dow, a Republican who has shown support for Trump and opposition to Democratic officials on social media, did not respond to Tribune requests for comment Wednesday.
Dow did, however, issue a statement via Twitter calling for unity.
“Violent and unlawful means of protest must not be tolerated and violators must be held accountable for their actions,” Dow wrote. “We are the #USA, we must always continue to show the world how to have peaceful transfer of power.”
Dow ended the tweet with the hashtags #UnitedWeStand and #DividedWeFall.
County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said in a statement that he “has repeatedly stated publicly that he is opposed to violence, no matter what the cause.”
“Peaceful protests are protected under the law, but criminal and violent behavior is not protected, and the Sheriff’s Office stands against it,” Parkinson said.
Former State Senator and Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, who also founded Cal Poly’s Institute for Advanced Technology and Public Policy, called Wednesday “a day that will haunt me and fellow Republicans for years to come.”
“I feel such deep sorrow, anger, and shock that such a thing could occur in America,” Blakeslee wrote on Facebook. “The actions of these protesters, Senator Cruz, Representative McCarthy, and President Trump — all of whom wittingly or unwittingly were responsible for today’s events — are unconscionable and unforgivable.”
“Our enemies and adversaries in Russia, China, and Iran are celebrating and they will remind us of this historic failing when we seek to hold them accountable for their conduct in the future,” he continued.
Republican supervisors react to Trump supporter mob
Reached by phone for comment, Republican county Supervisors John Peschong and Debbie Arnold told The Tribune they’d been in San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) meeting all afternoon and weren’t aware of the situation at the Capitol.
“I believe that any election challenges should be handled by the court system of the United States of America,” said Peschong, who represents District 1.
Neither supervisor would say outright that President-Elect Joe Biden won the Nov. 3 presidential election.
“I think Mr. Biden won San Luis Obispo County,” Peschong said. “It’s very tough for me to be able to tell you every place was a perfect election — I don’t know.”
Arnold, who represents District 5, said she thinks once residents have their questions about the election answered, they’ll ultimately accept the outcome.
“I understand that there’s tensions and concerns from every angle,” she said. “I just hope we can find resolutions to these concerns and problems as quickly as possible.”
District 4 Supervisor Lynn Compton, also a Republican, said she’d heard about the rioters storming the Capitol from her daughter after being in meetings for most of the afternoon.
“I don’t think that’s acceptable behavior for anyone to do that,” she said.
Compton said she didn’t know of anyone in the county who would support such actions — that most people want to follow the law and are “inherently good and want to do good.”
“No one I know thinks it’s right to burn, loot and trash the Capitol,” she said.
SLO County Democratic officials disturbed by ‘treasonous act’
Local Democratic elected officials were shocked by the Trump supporters’ takeover of the Capitol.
“It’s beyond disturbing and is the consequence of the most corrupt, dysfunctional president that this country has ever had,” said county Supervisor Bruce Gibson, who represents District 3.
Gibson said it’s “sad to think this is happening in America,” and those who agree with the rioters “need to get in touch with reality.”
“It’s a sad commentary on the trajectory of this country that we have people who would support this type of action,” he said.
Newly seated District 3 Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said the mob takeover was an unfortunate distraction at a time when leaders need to focus on managing the pandemic, ensuring the vaccine is distributed and pursuing economic solutions.
“This treasonous act has been instigated by the president of the United States,” she said. “It’s very serious.”
Ortiz-Legg said she has “great faith in the people” and is “always open to dialogue,” which is especially needed at this time.
“We need to come together,” Ortiz-Legg said. “We don’t have a choice. We have very serious issues we need to manage.”
“We need to be able to sit at the table and share our ideas and build that trust,” she continued.
San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon called for “all of my fellow electeds to join me in publicly denouncing this unprecedented act of domestic terrorism and to join me in calling for Trump’s immediate removal. This is not a matter of right and left — it’s a matter of right and wrong.”
Harmon called the mob insurrection “an assault on our democracy, an act of domestic terrorism.”
“This is a dark and unfortunate day in the history of our country,” she said. “We have had over 200 years of peaceful transition, and yet today we have fallen short. We are witnessing one of the ugliest sides of our country — one that we knew could and would be incited when given air to breathe and fuel to grow by Trump and his enablers in Congress. What we’re seeing is an attack on our country, on our people, on who we are and what we stand for.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 4:17 PM.
