Rep. Ken Calvert Denounces 'Mob Violence' In US Capitol

SOUTHWEST RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, condemned rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday as Congress prepared to certify the results of the Nov. 3 election.

"I condemn the actions of everyone participating in the mob violence at the Capitol today. We must restore law and order," Calvert, who represents most of Southwest Riverside County, said via social media.

Earlier, he tweeted, "The protestors disrupting the constitutional process right now must back down and let Congress do their job. This is no way to express their disappointment in the election process. Violence is never acceptable."

However, a tweet sent out early Wednesday morning by Calvert, well before events escalated, aligned with President Donald Trump's rhetoric and hinted at the congressman's position going into the joint session.

"America has never been closer to seeing socialist policies become law," he said. "I pledged to oppose these dangerous, radical policies and the voters in the 42nd District sent me here to do just that. I will fight like hell to stop socialism and hope my colleagues join me."

The breach of the Capitol building by supporters of Trump forced lawmakers and their aides to barricade themselves in their offices and elsewhere.

Prior to the eruption of violence, up to a half million people gathered to hear Trump speak outside the White House, where he recited a litany of unproven acts of fraud that he maintains impacted Nov. 3 election results and urged his supporters to fight against the ceremonial counting of the electoral votes that confirmed President-elect Joe Biden's win.

After the roughly hourlong speech, the president's supporters marched on the Capitol Building, where members of Congress were debating Electoral College votes from Arizona, one of the swing states in which fraud has been alleged by the president and his attorneys.

People began streaming into the halls of Congress, where an unarmed woman was shot in the chest and later died, and multiple officers were injured as they tried to quell the unrest.