Centre County GOP-organized trip to Washington ended when riots began, organizer says
One hundred participants traveled with the Centre County Republican Party to the “Save America” rally. Though the group was near the U.S. Capitol when a riot broke out, organizers said community members did not engage in violence.
As Congress met Wednesday for a joint session to certify the Electoral College results, President Donald Trump spoke at the rally, where he continued to propagate false claims about the election. The president’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, also spoke and demanded “trial by combat.”
Hours later, thousands of rioters pushed through Capitol police — breaking windows, climbing balconies and stealing from federal offices. Members of Congress were evacuated while conducting the final count of electoral ballots.
“What happened inside, the violence, we never condone,” GOP chair Kris Eng, who organized and attended the trip, said Thursday.
In a statement from the Centre County Republicans, officials said they “strongly condemn the violence and lawlessness” that erupted in Washington and hope rioters are held accountable for their actions.
Eng, who has been participating in rallies for a decade, said she organized the trip after a group of central Pennsylvania residents expressed an interest in attending the rally. Joined by people from Mifflin, Huntingdon and Clinton counties, the CCRC took three buses from State College.
According to Eng, local participants did not engage in violence or threatening acts. She added that they left when the riot began.
“It really was about our Constitution and standing up for our Constitution,” Eng said, expanding on why community members wanted to attend the morning rally. “Everybody had different reasons for going and wanting to be there. These people love their country, and they are patriots. None of them signed up for violence.”
Fullington buses carrying participants — both adults and children — returned to State College at 10:40 p.m. Wednesday. Exiting the buses in smiles, maskless participants hugged each other goodbye. Eng said the CCRC did not require attendees to wear face coverings or social distance.
Commissioners Michael Pipe and Mark Higgins said Thursday that the events that occurred were due to the rhetoric and behavior demonstrated by Trump during his presidency.
“It’s not a mistake,” Pipe said — adding that Trump instructed supporters to “essentially, march down Pennsylvania Avenue. Let’s take back our country,” Wednesday morning. “And things devolved where they devolved from.”
Republican Commissioner Steve Dershem declined to comment on the bus trip and the lack of social distance, saying he could not comment on actions he did not witness firsthand. However, Pipe and Higgins said participants should abide by state COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.
“At this point, on a good day, we’ve got 40 new verifiable infections — on a good day,” Higgins said. “On a bad day, it’s 100, and it just boggles the mind ... people piled on to ... buses. ... Pretty much, if anybody on that bus had COVID, everybody else on that bus now has COVID.”
