House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said the mob storming the Capitol is “un-American” and called on the protesters to stand down before more people get hurt.
Speaking on a phone call with Fox News Channel from an undisclosed location on Capitol Hill, McCarthy condemned the protesters who breached the Capitol during Congress’s certification of the Electoral College results.
“This is so un-American,” McCarthy said. “I condemn any of this violence. I could not be sadder or more disappointed with the way our country looks right now. People are getting hurt. Anyone involved in this, if you’re hearing me, hear me loud and clear: This is not the American way. This is not protected by the First Amendment. This must stop now.”
A violent mob clashed with police on the steps of the Capitol and some protesters got inside, forcing an evacuation.
The chaos at the Capitol came after President Trump held a rally to call on Republicans to protest the Electoral College vote count set to take place today in Congress. Many of his supporters marched to Capitol Hill, where they broke through barriers, climbed walls and breached the House and Senate chambers.
“Members had to be locked down,” McCarthy said. “I watched barriers being broken. I watched people breaking windows. I watched people running into a building. This is not the direction we should go.”
Trump initially encouraged the protests, saying Vice President Pence had failed in his duty to stop the vote count. Later, Trump tweeted that the protesters should “stay peaceful.”
Pence had to be evacuated from the Senate chamber after the Capitol was overrun.
McCarthy said he spoke with Trump and that he expected the president would speak publicly later in the day.
“I think that would be appropriate,” he said.