Lindsey Graham: “Where were the National Guard?… They could have killed us all.”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) slammed the Capitol police and the Senate sergeant-at-arms for failing to secure the Capitol as rioters barged into the building.
• Graham also vowed to go after rioters and have every one of them arrested.
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) also pledged to launch a thorough investigation of the violence.

Following the Capitol riot on Wednesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) lambasted Capitol police and the Senate sergeant-at-arms authorities for failing to control pro-Trump supporters in breaching the legislative house.

Speaking to the media after the riot, Graham said that he was “embarrassed” and “disgusted” after violent demonstrators were able to enter the building.

“They could have blown the building up. They could have killed us all. They could’ve destroyed the government… Lethal force should have been used… We dodged a major bullet. If this is not a wake-up call I don’t know what is,” he said.

The senator continued: “How could that happen 20 years after 9/11. … It is mind-boggling that such an event could occur.”

Graham backed Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) call for the resignation of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger. When Democrats take over the Senate on January 20, Schumer pledged to fire Stenger if he would not step down.

“Anyone in charge of defending the Capitol failed. The first thing that has to happen is to hold those accountable for failing to defend the nation’s Capitol while Congress was in session,” Graham argued.

The GOP lawmaker said that a joint task force should be created that would identify every person who was guilty of trespassing.

“There is a ton of video evidence out there,” he noted. “The people sitting in the chairs need to be sitting in a jail cell… Sedition may be a charge for some of these people.”

The Kentucky legislator was considering coordinating with the Justice Department for the upcoming six years, as he would spend his Senate tenure to monitor the progress of arresting the people involved in the Capitol riot.

“How could we not be prepared? How could in a joint session of Congress with the vice president in the building you not do better than this? Where were the National Guard?” Graham asked.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY.) has pledged to launch a “painstaking investigation and thorough review” as numerous congressional committees also vowed to probe the Capitol breach.

Graham, a known staunch ally of President Donald Trump, issued one of the most critical remarks about the Capitol violence as Congress bicameral session formally tallies the Electoral College vote and certifies President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. The session was halted for hours as lawmakers were forced to evacuate and sought immediate shelter at Fort McNair.

Source: The Hill