WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King, I-Maine, released the following statement in response to the violence at the U.S. Capitol.

“Today’s violent insurrection at the Capitol is an unspeakably sad moment for our nation – one I never thought I would see in our country. In the face of this unprecedented, despicable display, Congress will now reconvene and complete the people’s business, count the properly certified and authenticated electoral votes, and affirm the undeniable fact that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election fair and square. But the work to address today’s riots, and their threat to our democracy, has just begun.

“My colleagues who have remained silent during the past several months, or who have actively abetted the President’s unremitting campaign to delegitimize the election, must now speak the clear and honest facts: this election was fair, as has been confirmed by the President’s hand-picked Attorney General, the nation’s top election security agency, and Secretaries of State in each of our country’s 50 states and the District of Columbia. By continuing to sow disproven seeds of doubt, they are fanning the flames of division and hatred that engulfed our body today; to protect our nation’s democratic values, we must all fight to defend faith in our nation’s elections.

“President Trump cannot be verbally or silently enabled any longer by my good faith colleagues – whomever does not speak out is complicit. It is crystal clear that his current agenda is not to serve the nation in the slightest, but to serve and elevate himself. In doing so, he poisons the political debate and incites violence by continuing to repeat baseless accusations which undermine the elections that are the heart of our democratic system.

“Sadly, the tragic events of this day were entirely predictable. When people are fed a consistent and increasingly inflammatory diet of manifestly untrue statements and baseless conspiracy theories, it is no surprise that they would eventually turn to violence. The responsibility for what happened at the Capitol rests squarely on the shoulders of Donald Trump.

“As the Prophet Hosea said long ago, ‘they who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind,’ and that is exactly what happened today. 

“The violent, anarchist criminals who defiled the Capitol Building and threatened both public officials and law enforcement officers need to be arrested, prosecuted, and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. No person should feel empowered to engage in these violent acts without facing grave consequences.

“Today is one of the darkest days our democratic system has faced. Tomorrow, and every day after, must be better, because the freedoms enshrined by our founders are not self-perpetuating; their vision, and our Constitution requires each of us to put the long-term health of our nation above short-term political interests. If we are to ensure that government of the people, by the people, and for the people does not perish from the Earth, we need to protect it in word and deed. We must move forward together – not as warring factions, but as one nation.”