Trump says ‘election was stolen,’ but ‘go home in peace’

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Donald Trump addressed the nation in a recorded message on Wednesday afternoon to encourage violent protesters occupying the U.S. Capitol to “go home in peace” while also sympathizing with their “pain” and “hurt” related to the “stolen” 2020 presidential election.

“I know your pain,” Trump said. “I know your hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election, and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now.”

The protest began in the early afternoon after Trump addressed supporters at a rally. Pro-Trump protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to thwart the certification President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. As protesters breached the building, lawmakers were ordered to shelter-in-place and later evacuated as tensions continue. Congress was in joint session to count Electoral College votes.

Video footage of the scene shows people breaking windows to breach the Capitol Building, standing on government vehicles, climbing the Capitol and engaging violently with law enforcement. Video has also surfaced of a woman being shot inside the Capitol. Law enforcement officers have also been injured, according to reports.

“We have to have peace,” Trump said more than two hours after the ordeal began. “We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anyone hurt.

“It’s a very tough period of time,” he said. “There’s never been a time like this where such a thing happened where they can take it away from all of us – from me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election, but we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You’re very special.”

Trump’s message came shortly after Biden went on television to demand that Trump immediately make a televised address calling for an end to the violence and occupation of the Capitol. Republican lawmakers, many speaking to reporters on national television, had also publicly called for Trump to condemn the violence and to call to an end to the occupation.

Find more coverage of the situation at the Capitol here.

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