Bipartisan Illinois politicians condemn rioters, Trump
Hours after rioters seeking to block the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's November election victory first began storming the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker called on Congress to impeach and remove sitting President Donald Trump.
U.S. congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Channahon, called the scene a "coup attempt."
"The current president incited this coup and encouraged it and did little to protect the Capitol and the Constitution," Kinzinger said in a video posted on Twitter. "He is no longer the leader of our party. Our party must reject these treasonous acts."
Pritzker, in a statement, said, "Two weeks is too long for Donald Trump to remain in office, where he can continue to incite more untold violence."
Pritzker said because of what was unfolding at the U.S. Capitol, he had to ask the Illinois State Police and other law enforcement resources to redeploy to government buildings and the Capitol in Springfield.
There was no assault on Illinois government buildings. A small group of 75 to 100 protesters demonstrated peaceably Wednesday outside of the Illinois State Capitol.
"As the heart of our democracy was under siege and blood was literally being spilled in our most sacred halls, Donald Trump was praising the attackers," Pritzker said in the statement.
Trump, in a video statement released Wednesday afternoon, urged the rioters to go home while still incorrectly maintaining the election was "stolen" by Democrats. Trump has filed several lawsuits alleging voter fraud, which have been rejected by all judges for lack of evidence.
Trump also praised the rioters in the video statement, calling them "very special" and telling them he loved them.
On Twitter, the social media platform began removing some of the president's tweets after he criticized Vice President Mike Pence for not being more proactive in blocking the results of the November election. Wednesday evening, Twitter placed a 12-hour block on his account, noting it would continue until certain tweets deemed a threat to public safety were removed.
When the House and Senate reconvened late into the night to certify Biden's election, two southern Illinois congresspersons continued through with their plans to object to the certification. Mike Bost of Murphysboro and Mary Miller of Oakland were the only two Illinois representatives to object.
In a statement released on Thursday, Bost said he objected to the electoral vote allocations in Pennsylvania and Arizona because the way both states conducted their elections "failed" to meet constitutional standards.
Meanwhile, legislative Republicans in Illinois rebuked the events in Washington.
"The events unfolding at the United States Capitol today, and the inflammatory remarks by members of the Republican Party, are a disgrace to the core values and beliefs of our great nation," House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said in a statement. "These actions do not represent our Republican Party, and are against everything we stand for as Americans."
Dan McConchie, Senate minority leader designate, also issued a statement, saying "the horrible violence at our nation's Capitol is a disgrace to all Americans.
"I stand with members of all parties in condemning these un-American acts of violence and treachery, and will do my part here in Illinois to repair the devastating divide that has been created in our country."