State Sen. Amanda Chase, on the steps of the state Capitol in February. ASH DANIEL
Refusing to condemn Wednesday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, state Sen. Amanda Chase said that it initially was a “peaceful rally” and suggested without evidence that infiltrators posing as Trump supporters may have been responsible for the violence.
But in the same video that was posted to her political Facebook account Wednesday evening, Chase also said it could be the beginning of “a revolution” by people who support President Donald Trump and his baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen on behalf of Democrat Joe Biden. Despite numerous lawsuits and challenges to vote counts in several states, no evidence of widespread fraud has been presented by Trump’s legal team.
“When you back good people – law-abiding citizens – into the corner, they will push back,” said Chase, R-Chesterfield, one of two local elected officials seeking the Republican Party’s 2021 gubernatorial nomination.
“When you give them no other options, when you cheat them of their elections, when you take away their constitutional rights and freedoms, you’re backing patriots like myself into a corner. We would like to have a peaceful [resolution] to the events of today, but as you can see, there are already many patriots that have … we’ve had enough.”
Chase was among thousands of Trump supporters who descended on Washington Wednesday for a “Stop the Steal” rally in opposition of Congress certifying the results of November’s election.
She acknowledged attending the president’s speech outside the White House, during which he called on supporters to march to the Capitol, but said she left before the end of his remarks on the advice of her security team.
“Today what we saw was a peaceful rally – people upset about the election results, people upset the election was stolen, and expressing to the president our support of him for his courage, his strength and his willingness to stand up for we the people instead of doing the easy thing and just walking away,” Chase said in her video.
People swarmed the Capitol building after Trump’s speech, some breaking windows to get inside, and were videotaped taking over chamber floors and the offices of lawmakers.
During the siege, violence erupted between Trump supporters and police. One woman was shot and died. She was later identified as Ashli Babbitt, a 14-year Air Force veteran from San Diego.
In another Facebook post, Chase alleged Babbitt was “brutally murdered by Capitol Police.”
“These were not rioters and looters; these were Patriots who love their country and do not want to see our great republic turn into a socialist country,” she wrote.
Other Republicans – including Chase’s lone declared opponent in the gubernatorial race, Del. Kirk Cox – issued strongly worded condemnations of the rioting and destruction at the Capitol.
“The peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of our republic, key to the ongoing and sustainable success of a representative government. The reality is that Joe Biden is set to become the next President of the United States under our Constitution. The lawless actions taken today are an affront to that process and, therefore, an affront to the republic,” Cox said in a statement.
“I am both heartbroken and angry at what is happening. America is so much better than this. My sincere prayer is for the unending and matchless mercy and love of our God to rain down on this country at this moment,” he added.
The chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, Rich Anderson, described the events at the Capitol as “unspeakable, disturbing and horrifying acts of violence.”
“As one who was privileged to wear the Air Force uniform of a great nation for 30 years and witnessed first-hand the corrosive effects of acts of national violence in other countries, I am disturbed beyond measure by today’s events on Capitol Hill,” he said. “The God-given and Constitutionally-protected right of peaceful assembly and protest must be preserved, protected, and defended at all costs—but we as free citizens must be equally quick to condemn any and all acts of violence and hatred wherever and whenever they occur.”
While Anderson insisted perpetrators of Wednesday’s attack don’t represent the GOP or its values, the chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, Susan Swecker, called it “the direct result of Republican elected officials undermining our democracy at every turn.”
“The words and actions of our leaders matter, and Virginia Republicans have consistently stoked conspiracy theories and empowered violent right-wing extremists,” Swecker said in a statement. “The Republican Party has made their disdain for democracy clear, and every elected GOP official has been complicit. It’s up to every Virginian and every American to reject the values of the Republican Party that led to a violent coup attempt today in our nation’s capital. The future of our democracy depends on it.”
“She acknowledged attending the president’s speech outside the White House, during which he called on supporters to march to the Capitol, but said she left before the end of his remarks on the advice of her security team.”
It appears the there was knowledge on the part of hers and Trumps security teams what lay ahead. He said at his rally that he was going to the Capitol with his followers, but ended up going in the opposite direction.
she is trumps wing man. get rid of her