COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday called the occupation of the U.S. Capitol an
"embarrassment" that runs counter to actions in a nation of laws. He was joined by several
other state leaders in condemning the violence.
DeWine, a Republican, said the final step in the constitutional process of electing a president was
disrupted by what he called "a violent mob."
"This is an embarrassment to our country," said DeWine, who previously served in Washington as
both a U.S. representative and U.S. senator.
"As a nation of laws, this is simply not acceptable. Lawlessness is not acceptable," DeWine
said. "This is an affront to our Constitution and everything we hold dear."
DeWine said peaceful demonstrations are a First Amendment exercise, but stopping the constitutional
process of electing a president is not. He said President Donald Trump should call for the demonstrators
to leave the Capitol.
Trump, in a video message, urged supporters to "go home" but also kept up false attacks about
the presidential election.
In a tweet, Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senator, Rob Portman, called on Trump to "condemn this
unacceptable vandalism and violence."
Republican Attorney General Dave Yost, the state’s top law enforcement official, said it was just as
important to call for the prosecution of those involved in Wednesday’s occupation as for those who
stormed the federal courthouse in Portland last year during protests over racial injustice and police
brutality.
"The color of your skin or the slogan upon your banner must not change what is and is not
acceptable," said Yost.
"The violence and flagrant disregard of the law at the U.S. Capitol is un-American," Ohio’s
elections chief, GOP Secretary of State Frank LaRose, said in a tweet. "It goes against our values
as a nation. There’s no excuse for it. None."
Any Ohio protester who traveled to Washington with the intent of "to commit such crimes" will
be prosecuted, said U.S. Attorney David DeVillers, a Trump appointee whose jurisdiction includes
Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton and all of southern Ohio.
Members of Ohio’s congressional delegation universally condemned Wednesday’s violence, though with
varying degrees of anger. GOP U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, who issued his formal protest over the election of
President-elect Joe Biden minutes before protesters breeched the Capitol, tweeted simply: "Stop the
Violence. Support Capitol Police."
Jordan, a strong Trump ally, is expected to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump next
week.
U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Cleveland Democrat who has been appointed Biden’s secretary of housing and
urban development: "This is a day that will live in infamy. The very people who believe they are
protecting our democracy have succeeded in destroying it."
Protesters for and against Trump’s unfounded attack on the 2020 election results also clashed outside the
Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus. About 200 people in separate pro-Trump and Proud Boys groups
gathered to oppose the seating of President-elect Joe Biden. One punched a counterprotester, initiating
a brief scuffle.