Certification of the electoral college results for the 2020 presidential election was halted in Congress today as the U.S. Capitol was stormed by demonstrators, resulting in one person being fatally shot inside of the building.

Washington D.C. Metro Police Chief Robert Contee III reported that Pro-Trump demonstrators marched onto the Capitol from the National Mall after a speech by President Donald Trump and stormed inside the Capitol as part of a riot which breeched fencing. That riot disrupted Congressional proceedings for the certification of the presidential election’s electoral college. One person, a civilian, was shot during the storming of the Capitol, Contee said.

“It was clear that the crowd was intent on causing harm to our officers by deploying chemical irritants on police to gain access to the Capitol building,” Contee said.

Newly elected Congressman Kat Carmack, a Republican representing Florida’s 3rd Congressional District, said the breach came about midway through debate on the objection of the Arizona certification.

“Today, while objecting to the electoral college certification of states with explicit election irregularities, the Capitol was breached by protesters,” she said in a statement issued early Wednesday evening. “The situation escalated quickly with members being notified that nearby buildings were being breached. Midway through debate on the objection of the Arizona certification, protesters began attempting to breach the House Floor. In response, Capitol police barricaded the doors and Members were instructed to prepare their evacuation hoods in anticipation of tear gas being deployed. As attempts to gain entry into the chamber grew in intensity, I witnessed fellow Members joining with Capitol Police to further barricade doors by piling furniture. They also began breaking furniture to provide themselves with any means of defense they could find. Within minutes, the sounds of shots began coming through the door. We then began evacuating quickly out of the chamber to a safe location.”

Carmack had strong words for the protestors who, she said, hampered the efforts of those, like herself, who had issue with the election results.

“I am irate.

“I am heartbroken.

“What has transpired here today is unacceptable. Anything less than a full condemnation of this violence is unacceptable. My constituents sent me to Washington to fight for their rights and to be their voice.

“In the midst of fighting a legitimate and most serious objection to the certification of the states with egregious election violations, we were stopped. We were stopped by people not intent on fighting for our Constitutional Republic and our constitution; instead they wanted to tear it down,” she wrote.

Newly elected District 19 Congressman Byron Donalds, R-Naples, who represents Lee County and Collier County, signed his objection to the certification of the election today. He also decried the protestor actions.

In a statement on Facebook following the riots on the Capitol, Donalds said “Americans have the right to peacefully protest & demand their government works for them-that doesn’t mean we resort to violence. Rule of law must stand during our nation’s brightest & darkest hours & that includes right now. We are better than this. There is no place for anarchy.”

U.S. Senator Rick Scott, R-FL, took a similar view, stating “everyone has a right to peacefully protest. No one has a right to commit violence. What happened today at the Capitol is disgraceful and un-American. It is not what our country stands for.”

After the violence, Trump tweeted to supporters, “I know your hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everybody knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt. It’s a very tough period of time. There’s never been a time like this where such a thing happened where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudalent 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. You’ve seen what happens. You see the way other people are treated that is so bad, so evil but go home and go home in peace.”

Before the violence began during the Congressional proceedings, Mitch McConnell, R-KY, who has served as U.S. Senate Majority Leader for the last six years, said “nothing before us proves illegality anywhere near the massive scale, the massive scale that would have tipped the entire election. Nor can public doubt alone justify a radical break when the doubt itself was incited without any evidence. The constitution gives us here in Congress a limited role. We can not simply declare ourself a national board of elections on steroids. The voters, the courts and the states have all spoken. If we overrule them, it would damage our republic forever. This election was actually not unusually close. Just in recent history, 1976, 2000 and 2004 were all closer than this one. The electoral college margin is almost identical to 2016.

“If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral. We would never see the whole nation accept an election again. Every four years it would be a scramble for power at any cost. The electoral college, which most of us have been defending for years, would cease to exist.”

McConnell said “self government requires a shared commitment to the truth and a shared respect for the ground rules of our system.”

Former Congressman Francis Rooney, R-Naples, who represented Lee County and Collier County before deciding not to run for another term this November, posted the following statement on Facebook:

“All of America should be saddened and sickened by today’s events at the US Capitol. President Trump is complicit in inciting violence to contest an election that is over and adjudicated. This must stop now.”

Former State Rep. Dane Eagle, a Cape Coral resident who lost to Donalds in a tight Republican primary, also said Wednesday protest actions were intolerable.

“An attack on our Capitol is an attack on our Republic,” he said via Facebook. “We are a nation of law and order and anarchy will not be tolerated.

“Peaceful protestors should disperse immediately so the criminals can be brought to justice by our brave men and women in law enforcement.”

Eagle now serves as the executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. He was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.