Stanly protestors travel to D.C. to join Trump supporters
One local citizen’s Facebook page included a picture of her being in attendance at the protests which happened on Capitol Hill Wednesday.
Kim Loflin, as a member of a group she called 100 Patriots, posted a photo of being in the District of Columbia at approximately 1 p.m.
The group is made of 100 supporters of President Trump from Stanly and the surrounding area, she stated via text message. Loflin also confirmed on a text message she was at the Capitol.
As of 5 p.m. today, Loflin texted she and other members of the 100 Patriots were safe and on their bus trying to get home.
On Wednesday, protests forced the Capitol to go on lockdown while members of Congress, media and staff were removed from the buildings. Numerous published reports stated people pushed past police to enter the Capitol building while Congress debated whether to certify the presidential election from November. Some were able to enter the building.
Vice President Mike Pence is calling on protesters to leave the Capitol immediately, going further than President Donald Trump who merely called for his supporters to “remain peaceful.”
In a tweet Wednesday afternoon, Pence said, “This attack on our Capitol will not be tolerated and those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Pence, long a loyal aide to the president, defied Trump earlier Wednesday, telling him he didn’t have the power to discard electoral votes that will make Democrat Joe Biden the next president on Jan. 20. Trump had publicly called on Pence to overturn the will of the voters, but Pence’s constitutional role in the process was only ceremonial.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.