Rep. Pete Stauber Reacts To U.S. Capitol Violence While On Lockdown In Office

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Pete Stauber, Minnesota’s 8th district representative, talked to FOX21 while he was lockdown in his office near the U.S. Capitol while it was under siege by Trump supporters on Wednesday afternoon.

Rep. Stauber was not on the House floor when the violence and chaos first broke out. He had left with some other lawmakers after objections were raised about Arizona’s electoral college results.

The Republican, a fervent Trump supporter, compared the overtaking of the Capitol to the civil unrest and riots that happened around the country over the summer and called on President Trump to make it explicitly clear that the disturbing overtaking of the Capitol is unjustifiable.

“This is unacceptable what we’re seeing in our nation’s capitol,” Stauber said. “This is the same behavior we saw all summer long across this great nation in some of the major cities…the president needs to say, ‘this is unacceptable as Americans.”

Representative Stauber also said he is not joining some of his Republican colleagues in objecting to certifying the electoral college results. He did, however, sign onto a Texas legal challenge to attempt to invalidate the presidential election results just last month.

It was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court.

He said on Wednesday that he considers it his duty to respect the Constitution.

“I will always follow the Constitution of this great nation, and the voters have spoken, the electoral college count is to happen, and Congress has no right taking, changing the will of the people and the respect of states,” Stauber said.

He said he still has “serious concerns over election integrity,” but believes it should be left to the states to handle those claims and not Congress.