'Nothing Less Than Insurrection': Stratford Leaders On Riot In DC

STRATFORD, CT — “Shameful,” “disgraceful” and “domestic terrorists” were among the words used by Stratford officials to describe the supporters of President Donald Trump who stormed Capitol Hill and suspended Wednesday's proceedings to confirm Joe Biden as the country’s next president.

“What unfolded in Washington, D.C. yesterday was a shameful and disgraceful display the likes of which I never imagined I would see in my lifetime,” Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick said in a prepared statement. “To see the very heart of our republic breached by a violent mob invading the seats of our legislative government is heartbreaking.”

The events Wednesday resulted in four deaths, 69 arrests and calls from national political leaders for invocation of the 25th Amendment or impeachment to potentially remove Trump from office. The acts of insurrection followed a rally at which Trump told a crowd he would never concede and invited his supporters to march to the Capitol. Once there, they broke windows, vandalized property and forced Congress to take a recess.

“It was nothing less than insurrection unfortunately escalated by the president,” Hoydick, a Republican, said. “In this, the president is accountable for his actions and his words, which contributed to these events.”

About 4 a.m. Thursday, Biden’s win was certified. Trump said in a statement released overnight Wednesday into Thursday that he was committed to a peaceful transition of power.

Hoydick called for Americans to avoid escalating political disagreements to the point of intolerance. In her initial statement, she discussed the potential for protests to become violent, referencing those that followed the May 2020 death of George Floyd in police custody.

“The right to peacefully protest is unquestioned,” she said. “Yet, when protests turn to violence, as we witnessed during some of the protests in the wake of the George Floyd murder last year, we must take a stand (and) denounce it.”

About four hours later, Hoydick's office issued a revised statement, removing the paragraph that mentioned the 2020 protests.

“It was not my intention to suggest any moral equivalence between protestors in the wake of those events, and the disgraceful events of yesterday,” she said in a note typed in bold italics at the bottom of the revised statement.

“I support Black Lives Matter, and the objectives of those protests. I meant only to condemn all violence. I have heard the criticism of the remarks of those who expressed it to me, and recognize it detracted from the intended message of unity.”

Earlier Thursday, Councilwoman Kaitlyn Shake, a Democrat representing the 2nd District, released a statement, calling on Hoydick and Shake's fellow council members to publicly condemn the president and his supporters.

“Yesterday was one of the darkest moments in our country's history,” Shake said.

“Make no mistake that the hundreds of people who violated several federal laws and breached the Capitol grounds through violence and rioting actively participated in domestic terrorism — they were not protesting. The motive of those involved is rooted in the hate and rhetoric speech of white supremacy and white supremacy is terrorism.”

Council Chair Christopher Pia addressed the riots in an email Friday morning.

"I was upset like so many people for what happened the other day in Washington," said Pia, a Republican who represents the 1st District. "It bothered me because that is not what our democracy was founded on.

"Anyone who broke the law or incited violence the other day should be held fully responsible for their actions. No one is above the laws of our great land. That is what makes this country so special. I want everyone to come together and work to make this nation the wonderful and caring place that we know it can be and should be again."