By Matt Bittle

WASHINGTON — The three members of Delaware’s congressional delegation are safe after violent supporters of President Donald Trump broke into the U.S. Capitol Wednesday.

According to their offices, Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester were unharmed but deeply unsettled.

“I never thought I would see this in our nation — a president egging on protesters and allies in the Congress to seek to overturn an election. We need to come together and secure our democracy,” Sen. Coons said on Twitter. “I remain confident we will return to the Senate (Wednesday night) and complete our work.”

Sen. Tom Carper recalled the events of the day Wednesday evening, telling how lawmakers sheltered in the Senate chamber for a while, listening to the sounds of altercations and chaos outside before being led to a secure place in the Capitol complex.

While some members have called for invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the president or beginning impeachment proceedings, Sen. Carper said he would not support such efforts, which he termed distractions. Instead, Americans should prepare for Jan. 20, inauguration day when President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in to office, when the country can begin to heal, he said.

During the riot, Rep. Blunt Rochester could be seen in Twitter photos and videos leading some of her colleagues in prayer in the House chamber.
Rep. David J. Trone, a Maryland Democrat, wrote on Twitter legislators “will not be stopped by this lawless intimidation.”

A spokesman for Gov. John Carney said there were no requests to send the Delaware National Guard to Washington.

Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying: “All Americans should be outraged by this attack on our nation’s Capitol. This is a heinous and violent assault on the heart of our democracy. I will not stand for this, and neither should any American.

“I am in close contact with congressional leaders about the situation inside the Capitol. At my direction, the Maryland State Police is sending in troopers to assist the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Capitol Police. I have instructed the Adjutant General of the Maryland National Guard to call up a rapid response force to support law enforcement and restore order.”

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings in a statement described the rioting as “a despicable, unprecedented and deranged insurrection” and as “treason.”

Speaking in Wilmington late Wednesday afternoon, President-elect Joe Biden called on demonstrators who stormed and entered the U.S. Capitol, halting the certification of his victory, to “pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward.”

“I’m genuinely shocked and saddened that our nation, so long the beacon of light and hope for democracy, has come to such a dark moment,” he said from Wilmington.

Mr. Biden was anticipated to speak on the economy Wednesday, but his remarks instead came as discord emerged in Washington after protesters swarmed the U.S. Capitol.

“The words of a president matter, no matter how good or bad that president is,” he said. “At their best, the words of a president can inspire. At the worst, they can incite.”

He urged President Donald Trump — who held a rally earlier in the day telling his supporters who traveled to D.C. they would “never give up” — to “step up.”

“I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege,” he said. “It’s not a protest. It’s insurrection. The world’s watching.”

Shortly after, President Trump released a brief video in which he suggested the extremists leave while continuing to make claims that the election was fraudulent. He later sent a tweet calling the insurrection the natural outcome that occurs “when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long.”

According to Delaware Republican Party chairwoman Jane Brady, six buses transported Delawareans to Washington Wednesday for the pro-Trump rally.
Given the chaos that ensued there, several downstate municipal law enforcement agencies said they were ready to respond, but not needed as of Wednesday evening.

“We haven’t taken any increased patrols or efforts just yet,” said Millsboro Police Sgt. David Moyer. “The Delaware State Police have their National Information Center, who has sent us updates regarding what is going on in Washington. It doesn’t appear as if any threats or indications of threats are going to be occurring in our area. And Millsboro doesn’t have any high priority targets that we know of.”

“If the information center starts indicating that threats are coming, we would act accordingly,” Moyer said.

Georgetown, Dover and Milford police offered similar responses.

“We are monitoring, but at this time no increased patrols,” said Georgetown Police Department Public Information Officer Det. Joey Melvin.

Milford’s Public Information Officer Sgt. Robert Masten said, “When there’s national events like this we do monitor (them). At this point there does not appear to be anything locally that we need to take action on. Obviously we’re concerned for the safety of everyone involved in Washington, D.C.”

Staff writers Brooke Schultz, Craig Anderson, Glenn Rolfe and Dave Ryan contributed to this story.