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Montana politics, elections and legislative news

Montana D.C. Delegation Reports Being Safe Following Storming Of U.S. Capitol

A screenshot from C-SPAN shows a pro-Trump mob outside the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021 at 2:47 p.m. Members of the U.S. House and Senate were meeting in a joint session to certify states' electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election.
CSPAN
A screenshot from C-SPAN shows a pro-Trump mob outside the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021 at 2:47 p.m. Members of the U.S. House and Senate were meeting in a joint session to certify states' electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election.

The three members of Montana’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., along with their staff, are safe following a group of pro-Trump extremists storming the U.S Capitol as a mob.

Members of the U.S. House and Senate were meeting in a joint session to certify electoral votes for the presidential election won by President-elect Joe Biden when thousands of supporters of Pres. Donald Trump thrust their way into the Capitol.

Police locked down the building, according to NPR.

Listen Live: Special Coverage Of Violent Protests At U.S Capitol

Following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Republican Sen. Steve Daines, who earlier this week indicated he planned to object to certain states’ electoral vote,  issued a statement saying he condemns the violence in Washington D.C. and will certify electoral votes.

“Today is a sad day for our country. The destruction and violence we saw at our Capitol today is an assault on our democracy, our Constitution and the rule of law, and must not be tolerated.  As Americans, we believe in the right to peaceful protest. We must rise above the violence. We must stand together. We will not let today’s violence deter Congress from certifying the election. We must restore confidence in our electoral process. We must, and we will, have a peaceful and orderly transition of power,” Daines wrote in a statement.

Democratic Sen. Jon Tester Tweeted that he and his staff are safe and secure, saying "Thank you for your concerns. My staff and I are safe and secure. The violent actions we are seeing today at our nation’s Capitol are an affront to our democracy and have no place in America."

Newly sworn in Republican Rep. Matthew Rosendale, who also indicated he would object to certain states’ votes, Tweeted, “I am safe and so is my staff. I condemn political violence of any kind. There is a peaceful process to resolve this which is what we were attempting to do. Thank you to the Capitol Police for keeping us safe.”

Trump has called for the D.C. protesters to go home while continuing to say the election “was stolen.” Courts have found no evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Meanwhile, a group of roughly 100 Trump supporters gathered peacefully at the Montana Capitol in Helena earlier this afternoon, waving American and Trump flags at honking cars.

Gov. Greg Gianforte, who was sworn in as Montana’s first Republican governor in 16 years Monday, also condemned the violence in Washington in a Tweet.

Throughout the day, small groups of people waving Trump flags gathered in public places in several Montana towns. Some carried signs showing support for conspiracy theories about the 2020 election results. One of the largest crowds of Trump supporters was reported in Missoula, where around 100 people gathered.

Yellowstone Public Radio News
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