Entire Mass. Congressional Delegation Calls For Trump's Removal After 'Attack On America' At U.S. Capitol

All eleven of Massachusetts' congressional leaders are calling for President Trump's removal from office after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday.

The delegation — which includes Reps. Katherine Clark, Ayanna Pressley, Seth Moulton, Jim McGovern, Richard Neal, Bill Keating, Jake Auchincloss, Lori Trahan, Stephen Lynch as well as Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren -- blames Trump directly for inciting the violence. They say he should be removed either by impeachment or the 25th Amendment of the Constitution.

Earlier, as the violence began, Moulton called the chaos an attempted coup.

"This is the kind of violence, this is the kind of terrorism that I expected to see in Iraq as a United States Marine - not here in Washington, D.C.," Moulton said Wednesday afternoon in an interview with WBUR. "Not an attempted coup on own country."

The state's newest congressman, Rep. Jake Auchincloss, told WBUR he and his staff were sheltered in place in their offices when the mob entered the Capitol. He said the country's democracy is "stronger than this."

"This institution and the institutions of our republic broadly are not going to be cowed by this display of of aggression and these menacing protests," he said around 3 p.m. Wednesday. "This is what happens when a president with extreme control over elements of American society decides to throw a temper tantrum."

He said this was a "dark day for our democracy."

Massachusetts lawmakers had earlier in the day focused their ire on Republicans challenging President-elect Joe Biden's win on baseless accusations of voter fraud.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey called on Trump to take action and insist his supporters move away from the Capitol.

Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who has at times been critical of President Trump, said he condemned the violence and called on Trump to do the same.

A top official with the Massachusetts Republican party called it a "dismal day" for the GOP.

MassGOP Vice Chairman Tom Mountain said the state party supports Republican lawmakers who raised objections to the vote certification, but he said the protesters who stormed the Capitol went too far.

"I speak on behalf of the entire state party in saying that we absolutely, positively condemn this appalling act of, really, violence and anarchy and insurrection upon the United States Capitol," he told WBUR.

One of Trump's staunchest supporters and the campaign's statewide "honorary chairman," Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, said he was "saddened" by the violence in D.C.

Trump told his supporters to "remain peaceful" and support the Capitol police. He posted a video telling his supporters to "go home now." Still, he insisted, baselessly, that the election was "stolen from us."

"But we can't play into the hands of these people," he said. "We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You're very special."

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and the city council issued a joint statement calling the violence "sickening." They wrote that Trump has "proven, once again, to be incapable of rising to the responsibilities" of president.

"The First Amendment is a bedrock value of this country that ensures everyone's rights to freedom of speech and to peaceably assemble. Peaceably is the operative word," they said. "We must be better than this."

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins pointed to the racial differences in how protesters are treated.

Former Rep. Joe Kennedy referenced Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's speech on the Senate floor condemning his colleagues' objections not long before Trump supporters breached the Capitol.

With reporting from WBUR's Anthony Brooks and Callum Borchers. The audio attached to this post is a Morning Edition conversation between host Bob Oakes and Brooks.