Rep. Raul Ruiz was sitting in the House chamber Wednesday when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, and he said he watched as police locked the doors and began shouting instructions to lawmakers, warning them to “be prepared to take cover.”
“Apparently tear gas was deployed,” Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, said. “So members (were told) to open the gas masks under the seats.”
Congress was in the midst of certifying the results of the Nov. 3 presidential election, an election President Donald Trump has insisted — without evidence or foundation — was stolen from him through widespread election fraud that has never been proven.
Even after he and other lawmakers were escorted to safety, Ruiz said he only truly came to terms with the gravity of the situation when he received a phone call from one particular person.
“I actually knew that things were getting out of hand when my mother called me asking if I was OK,” he said. “If she knew, I figured things were getting out of hand outside.”
Ruiz reassured his mother of his safety, along with his wife, and then turned his attention elsewhere.
“I prayed,” he said. “I prayed to God. There were other members who started praying to find strength.”
Ruiz said he expected to convene back in House chamber Wednesday evening to continue discussion of the election results.
Joy Miedecke, president of East Valley Republican Women Federated based out of La Quinta, said outrage among conservatives was a “long time coming,” but said her group does not condone violence, suggesting the insurgency at the Capitol was fueled not by Trump supporters.
“I support peaceful gathering, peaceful protests,” she said. “I think the crowds are infiltrated with people who are not conservative, and I think we have a problem,” she said.
“I am hoping for the best,” Miedecke said, adding that her group is “sick and tired of our country being run by people who do not love our country.”
In Palm Desert Wednesday afternoon, dozens of protesters gathered in the area of El Paseo and Portola Avenue. Organizers billed the protest as a rebuke of California’s coronavirus-related business shutdown orders, but the Desert Sun reported some in attendance hoisted Trump signs.
Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Deanna Pecoraro said the sheriff’s department was aware of the gathering but offered no additional information on the department’s response.
The unrest at the U.S. Capitol began shortly after Trump spoke to hundreds of supporters who gathered in Washington, D.C.
Trump has vociferously insisted that voter fraud led to his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the election, though his multiple legal challenges in various states have been rejected due to lack of evidence. Officials in states across the country, including the Republican election officials in the battleground state of Georgia, have flatly denied any impropriety in the election.
As Trump supporters marched through the streets of Washington, D.C., the group made its way to the Capitol complex, clashing with Capitol Police and ultimately breaching the building, entering the seat of Democracy without any security screening. The Senate and House chambers were cleared as police tried to restore order.
Trump took to Twitter in response to the insurrection, writing, “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”
He later posted a video message urging people to leave the Capitol building, but continued to press his unfounded claims of election fraud and that the election was stolen from him.
“You have to go home now,” he said. “We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt. … There’s never been a time like this where such a thing happened where they could take it away from all of us, from you and our country. This was a fraudulent election, but we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You’re very special. … Go home and go home in peace.”