Idaho and Wyoming politicians respond to Capitol riots
WASHINGTON (KIFI)-Idaho political leaders are beginning to speak out about the assault that happened Wednesday in the Washington D.C. Capitol Building.
Idaho Republican Senator Mike Crapo announced he stands by the First Amendment rights of Americans to peacefully assemble. However, he added, “What we witnessed at the U.S. Capitol today was not peaceful; such violence is wholly unacceptable. All perpetrators should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Actions like today thwart the rule of law and could leave lasting, devastating consequences on our nation.”
Republican Senator Jim Risch called Wednesday’s events unpatriotic and un-American in the extreme. “The business we conducted today showed there is deep distrust in the integrity and veracity of our elections. We need to restore American’s faith in our voting process. I am committed to pursue that so all of America has the benefit of what we enjoy in Idaho - solid confidence in the outcome of our elections.”
Despite the capitol incursion, Congress went about its duty to formally recognize the Presidential electoral college ballots of each state. Second District Republican Congressman Mike Simpson, who recently signed on to an effort to overturn election results in swing-states that did not support Donald Trump’s presidential bid, said “As an Idahoan, I take extremely seriously my responsibility to guard the separation of powers which limit the heavy hand of government, and to bolster any process which returns power to the states.”
Simpson did not directly address the incursion at the Capitol building.
Idaho Republican Governor Brad Little compared the incursion of Capitol security by Trump supporters to Idaho’s own security issues and to the challenge of providing security and access to business at the Boise Capitol. The Governor stated, “…the unintended consequences will be less access, fewer students, fewer citizens seeing the sometimes-messy constitutional process of government.”
Idaho Democratic Party leadership placed much of the blame for the Capitol insurgency at the feet of the state’s republican leaders. “Congressman Russ Fulcher, Congressman Mike Simpson, Senator Jim Risch and Senator Mike Crapo all share responsibility for today’s events, along with every Republican official who chose to prioritize political power over preserving our democracy,” said party Chairman Van Beechler.
In Wyoming, U.S. Representative Liz Cheney is the nation’s third ranking republican Congressional leader. She said, “This is what America is not. It has just been absolutely intolerable and unacceptable. The mob will not prevail.”
(highlights are Cheney’s)
Wyoming Republican Governor Mark Gordon said, “Interfering with the peaceful transfer of power is an affront to the very Constitution that has made our country what it is. I believe America will not – cannot – stand for this assault on our democracy.”
