Some lawmakers were among the crowd in DC. One filmed himself storming the Capitol
Elected state officials were among the crowd at President Donald Trump’s “Save America Rally” in Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning, and one lawmaker later filmed himself storming the U.S. Capitol building.
Republican Derrick Evans, who was recently elected to West Virginia’s House of Delegates, took a video of himself on Facebook Live pushing his way into the Capitol, according to The Washington Post.
“We’re in! We’re in!” he said in the since-deleted video. “Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!”
Evans later said in a statement that he was there as an “independent member of the media to film history.”
“I want to assure you all that I did not have any negative interactions with law enforcement nor did I participate in any destruction that may have occurred,” he said.
Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building after the president’s rally as Congress prepared to certify the Electoral College vote and cement Joe Biden’s win as president. Evans was one of several lawmakers who attended Trump’s rally, leading other politicians to criticize their participation and call for their resignation.
West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, a Republican, condemned Evans’ actions.
“What occurred today is unpatriotic, un-American and I condemn it in the strongest terms possible,” Hanshaw said in a statement to West Virginia MetroNews. “He will need to answer to his constituents and colleagues regarding his involvement in what has occurred today.”
“He must be held accountable for participating in an act of insurrection against the United States government and risking the lives of law makers and Capitol police,” West Virginia Democratic Party chair Belinda Biafore and state party vice-chair Rod Snyder said in a statement.
Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano also attended the earlier rally but said in a news release that he left once the rioters began storming the Capitol.
“I join with all patriotic Americans in condemning what occurred in the Capitol. There never is justification for this sort of behavior,” he said Wednesday.
“When it was apparent that this was no longer a peaceful protest, my wife and I left the area and made our way out of the area. At no point did we enter the Capitol building, walk on the Capitol steps or go beyond police lines,” he continued.
Democratic lawmakers Rep. Brian Sims of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives and Pennsylvania state Sen. Tim Kearney have called for Mastriano’s resignation.
“Doug Mastriano is a sitting senator who actively organized a violent insurrection in an attempt to prevent a peaceful transfer of power,” Kearney wrote on Twitter. “Sen. Corman & GOP leadership should call for his immediate resignation. If not, he should be removed from all committee or leadership positions.”
“After weeks of seditious conspiracies his actions have grown grossly and predictably dangerous and I join Sen. Tim Kearney in calling for his resignation!” Sims tweeted Wednesday.
Mastriano was photographed with former Pennsylvania state Rep. Rick Saccone, who posted pictures from D.C. on Facebook.
“I see some people are twisting the peaceful protest into something else. Everyone from our group was involved in peaceful, first amendment assembly. It was part of the metaphor to storm the castle so to speak,” Saccone wrote in a Facebook post, referring to a since-deleted post of his talking about storming the Capitol, according to TribLIVE.
Saccone has since resigned as an adjunct professor at St. Vincent College, KDKA reported Thursday. The college is investigating the Facebook video Saccone posted while at the Capitol, according to the station.
This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 8:10 AM with the headline "Some lawmakers were among the crowd in DC. One filmed himself storming the Capitol."