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BELLEFONTE -- The Centre County GOP took a pair of buses to the planned protest in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. However, The Express has not yet been able to verify how many Centre County residents attended or if any were involved in the events at the Capitol.
"Our President needs us! He has been there for us! Now it is our turn to show we aren't going to let the MAGA movement end!" a December Facebook post advertising the trip said. "Too much is at stake to sit at home and do nothing. And look at how he put so much on the line to help get people elected! Where are they now? Folks, it's our job to get it done."
Four people died during a stunning attack at the heart of American democracy as members of the mob vandalized the building and assaulted police officers.
At least 14 D.C. Metropolitan Police officers were injured, including one who was hospitalized after suffering serious injuries when he was pulled into a crowd and assaulted, according to the Associated Press. One officer had significant facial injuries from being struck by a projectile and another officer was hospitalized after being pepper sprayed.
On Thursday, the Centre County GOP released the following statement: "The events at our nation's Capitol yesterday are unacceptable. We condemn violent protests and those who participate in it."
State Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-Benner Township), along with three colleagues, wrote a letter to Congress earlier this week asking for the electoral certification to be delayed because of what they claimed were "inconsistent and questionable activities," by a "rogue state Supreme Court," Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar.
On social media Wednesday, Corman took issue with the violence.
"It cannot be said often enough -- we are a nation of laws," Corman wrote on Twitter. "This is not our America. Violence is not the American way. When our rules and laws are not followed, chaos takes over. What is going on in DC should never happen."
Centre County's two representatives in the U.S. House denounced Wednesday's violence at the Capitol. However, they did not change their minds in opposing the certification of Pennsylvania's electors early Thursday morning.
U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Howard) and Rep. Fred Keller (R-Kreamer) were among Republicans who announced they would vote against certification of electors. While some lawmakers reversed their decisions after being evacuated from the Capitol Complex and returning for the count, Keller and Thompson maintained their stance and moved to reject the state's results.