BOSTON — As a crowd of Trump supporters breached the security perimeter, stormed the United States Capitol and unleashed chaos inside the building Wednesday, members of Congress, including Massachusetts’ own delegation, hid or quickly evacuated.
“My parents feared for my life when I went to Iraq. They never had to fear when I went to Washington before,” said Rep. Seth Moulton to Boston 25 News as he sheltered in place in the nation’s Capitol. “I’m a United States Marine. This is far from the worst thing I have seen. But for many of my colleague, it’s probably the scariest moment of their lives, because we fear not just for our democracy, but many people are fearing indeed for their very lives.”
Rep. Stephen Lynch quickly made it to his nearby D.C., apartment, where he spoke to Boston 25 News by phone.
Lynch and his Massachusetts colleagues pointed their fingers at President Donald Trump, who had earlier called on supporters to march on the Capitol as members of Congress prepared to confirm the electoral college results and affirm Joe Biden as the next president.
“This is a dark day for our democracy. It’s really shameful,” Lynch said. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to let thugs, and especially this president, intimidate me or the people that I represent.”
Congressman and Marine veteran Jake Auchincloss, too, was determined to get back to work, condemning Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud and Wednesday’s attack on democracy.
“Constitutional order is going to be restored,” Auchincloss said. “And if I’ve got to throw on the body armor I wore in the Marine Corps to get to the House chamber to do that, I will, because that’s the constitutional responsibility I took an oath to uphold on Sunday.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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