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Right-wing DC riot and looting reverberate in New York
Jan 07, 2021 6:35 am
The violent right-wing coup that attempted to overturn an American election in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6 reverberated in New York. There were similar actions at many state capitals including Albany, where two people were hospitalized after a stabbing in the park next to the state capitol, the Times Union reports. "Police say two people were taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital for treatment and one person is in custody," Amanda Fries writes about the pro-Donald Trump rally outside New York's capitol. All four Congressional representatives from the Hudson Valley, and both New York senators, reported they were safe after the mob over ran the nation's capitol. It was the first time in United States history that there was not a peaceful transition of power after a presidential election, unless one counts the Civil War. A woman was shot and killed, others were taken to hospitals with injuries, and parts of the nation's capitol were destroyed. At least one bomb was found at the scene. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said of the DC riot, "We must call this what it actually is: a failed attempt at a coup." Senator Chuck Schumer spoke on the Senate floor when business reopened after the riot. Click here to download or play an excerpt of Schumer's comments. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Tweeted, "Today's events are disgraceful but will not change the fact that Joe Biden will be the President of the United States on January 20." Rep. Antonio Delgado Tweeted that, "Today’s unprecedented attack on our U.S. Capitol is what happens when our leaders propagate hate and division and sow distrust in our most basic democratic norms. Enough is enough." Rep. Sean Maloney wrote on Twitter, "I was on the House Floor when protesters attempted to enter. We evacuated and are safe. The President and his enablers have incited this violence. It must stop." Rep. Paul Tonko, on Twitter, called for impeaching the president. "For the safety of our people, republic, our laws and our Constitution, Congress must adopt articles of impeachment and remove Donald Trump from office immediately," he wrote. Liz Joy, the Republican who ran against Tonko and lost, Tweeted the day before that she was attending the DC riot, and Tweeted during the disturbance that, "Hundreds of thousands of people attended today’s rally to stand for Election Integrity." Rep. Elise Stefanik continued to support the coup to overturning a fair and free election, even after the violence. She posted on Twitter that, "Americans have a Constitutional right to protest and freedom of speech, but violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable and anti-American." But Stefanik's Senior Advisor Alex deGrasse retweeted a message during the riot claiming the rioters were undercover leftists, without any evidence. Farther south, MidHudson News is reporting state Assemblymember Colin Schmitt, a New Windsor Republican, was photographed the morning of Jan. 6, speaking maskless to a busload of people departing for the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. As a result, Orange County Democratic Party Chairman Brett Broge is calling on Schmitt to immediately resign from the Assembly. “His judgment is impugned and he can no longer adequately represent the interests of Orange County residents,” Broge said. The chairman called the rioting and storming of the U.S. Capitol “an act of domestic terrorism.” Before the photo of Schmitt talking to the busload of people en route to Washington surfaced, he issued a statement saying, “I am deeply disturbed by the assault on the United States Capitol today. There is absolutely no justification for any form of violence against the pillars of our democracy.” Broge discounted the statement saying, “he demonstrated shameful negligence this morning when he validated the violence conspiracy theories of his far-right supporters.”