WASHINGTON — Indiana Congressman Jim Banks is lambasting those who took part in the violence that took place on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in Washington.
Banks, who was one of the lawmakers in Congress who objected to certain electors as a joint session of Congress took up a measure to certify the Electoral College results, said anyone who engaged in the violence needs to be brought to justice.
“I hope that we prosecute those people that are seen in photos that did what they did,” Banks told Tucker Carlson on Fox News. “That cost the life of one individual and brought violence to the Capitol building.”
A woman was shot and killed inside the Capitol building. Banks called it a “gut-wrenching” day for everyone in Washington.
“What happened at the Capitol today is domestic terrorism,” said Congressman Andre Carson (D) on Twitter. “It’s the greatest threat to our national security, and our own President is encouraging it.”
Despite the violence, Banks was one of a handful of Republicans who still voted to reject certain electors in the discussion of certifying the Electoral College vote, in which Biden was certified as the winner with 306 electoral votes to 232 for President Trump.
Fellow Indiana Congressman Jim Baird joined him in objecting electors in Pennsylvania. He also joined Banks and Congresswoman Jackie Walorski in objecting to electors in Arizona.
“While I condemn the violent protests that occurred today at the U.S. Capitol in the strongest terms possible, it doesn’t change the fact that concerns remain on how several states enacted new election rules without the consent from their state legislatures,” Baird said in a statement on Facebook.
Indiana Senator Mike Braun, who previously said he would object to certain electors decided not to object after the wave of riots at the Capitol building.
Banks believes the violence was the byproduct of frustration over the coronavirus pandemic.
“I felt for a long time that over the last several months when we shutdown America, when we told families they couldn’t send their kids to school, they couldn’t see their families, there was a deep-seated resentment and we saw that come to life today,” Banks said.
Banks also predicts that Democrats will use the violence incited by Trump supporters as “an excuse to crack down on American’s freedoms and civil liberties.”
He said that those who engaged in violence “are not conservatives who believe in law and order.”
