Oklahoma Congressman Markwayne Mullin (R) has been extremely vocal about how angry he is about the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol Building Wednesday, stating that the protests were taken way too far.
The eight-year republican congressman told News On 6 that what should have been the quick process of affirming the electoral votes yesterday turned into one of the darkest days in American history.
When recounting the series of events that began Wednesday afternoon, Mullin said the second that he heard voices in the hallway, he knew something was extremely wrong since there usually is not anyone there due to the pandemic. Mullin said that was about the time he heard the security radios start to go off and then things quickly went downhill from there when people started to bang on the house chamber doors.
“The most intense moment was when they started breaking the doors, it sounded like shots fired,” Mullin said. “I was right outside the doors when it took place, the people who were trying to breach the door were lucky they didn’t get shot.”
Capitol Police have confirmed four people have died in and at the demonstrations yesterday. One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police while inside the Capitol Building and three other people died of a medical emergency.
In one of the shocking photos that surfaced from the chaos on the Capitol, Congressman Mullin could be seen standing at the door of the house chambers. He said he was trying to speak with the rioters who were breaking the glass in the door before they got into what is arguably one of the most sacred rooms in the Capitol Building.
“My thing was trying to deescalate the situation, I figured out really quick they didn’t have guns and that takes one threat down, but you still have to worry about it a month could be dangerous,” Mullin said.
Mullin said his efforts were not successful since the rioters were eventually able to get onto the House Floor. He said at one point he remembers looking around and seeing at least 50 people who were injured inside the building. He said some of them were protestors and some were Capitol Police Officers. Mullin said he saw a man’s eye gouged by a flag pole, a lot of broken noses, and cuts to the face and head.
He continued the interview with News On 6 with a strong statement saying those rioters “got what they deserve”.
“A lot of them were protestors that got hurt too, and rightfully so, they attacked a police officer,” Mullin said. “I hope a lot of them are hurt, they need to be hurt, they need to be hurt bad, but these are Capitol Police I was talking to, not the protestors, they put themselves in that situation and the police had to defend themselves. We have a right to protest, but this is way too far they went way too far and you lose the argument when you lose your head and these guys took it too far.”
He praised the law enforcement who were at the scene, saying they are the heroes of the day and deserve recognition.
Mullin said he and his staff did stay in a safe and secure location for the remainder of the day while the Capitol Building was being cleared, but it did look like he was one of the last people to run when things started to go downhill yesterday afternoon.