Montana lawmakers condemn Capitol chaos

Montana lawmakers react to supporters of President Donald Trump occupying the U.S. Capitol complex Wednesday as Congress began to tally electoral votes.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines

“Today is a sad day for our country. The destruction and violence we saw at our Capitol today is an assault on our democracy, our Constitution and the rule of law, and must not be tolerated. As Americans, we believe in the right to peaceful protest. We must rise above the violence. We must stand together. We will not let today’s violence deter Congress from certifying the election. We must restore confidence in our electoral process. We must, and we will, have a peaceful and orderly transition of power.”

U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale

“I am safe and so is my staff. I condemn political violence of any kind. There is a peaceful process to resolve this which is what we were attempting to do. Thank you to the Capitol Police for keeping us safe.”

Gov. Greg Gianforte

“Violence has no place in our civil society, and I categorically condemn what’s happening in the U.S. Capitol.”

Montana Senate President Mark Blasdel and Montana Speaker of the House Wylie Galt

"We are blessed in Montana to have a long tradition of respectful and spirited dialogue and peaceful expression of diverse viewpoints through our First Amendment rights. Violence is not an acceptable response to political differences. Already this week, we've had multiple peaceful demonstrations here at the State Capitol in Helena. We encourage Montanans to continue serving as an example for the nation during these times of intense division." 

Montana Senate Minority Leader Jill Cohenour

"This is a dark day for our country. I am deeply disturbed by the violence that has taken place in our nation’s Capital and my heart aches for our country and everyone impacted. Our country deserves leaders that will do more than condemn the violence attempting to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and immediately put an end to the baseless claims and dangerous rhetoric that got us here today."

Montana House Minority Leader Kim Abbott

“We’re watching the events in D.C. with heavy hearts, and a deep concern for both the safety of all those in our nation’s capital, and our country’s collective faith in the Democratic process. This is a critical moment for our country. We will do everything we can to lead by example — and we ask all of our partners in public service to do the same.”

Montana GOP Chairman Don "K" Kaltschmidt

"As Americans, we are privileged to have a First Amendment Right that gives us freedoms that are the envy of the world, however, today's events at the U.S. Capitol fell far short of what makes this country great. Any and all acts of violence have absolutely no place in this great country and certainly do not represent the principles or values of the Montana Republican Party. As always, we remain grateful to the men and women in uniform working to keep people out of harms way and are keeping them in our prayers."