Romney rips Trump over Capitol Hill mayhem: 'This is what the president has caused'

Sen. Mitt Romney issued a scathing rebuke of President Trump after his supporters stormed the Capitol Hill complex, which forced an evacuation of Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers.

"This is what the president has caused today," Romney told New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin on Wednesday. "This is insurrection."

.@MittRomney summoned me as lawmakers and press arrived at a secure location

“This is what the president has caused today, this insurrection,” he said w fury in his voice. — Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) January 6, 2021

Romney later released a statement condemning the violence on Capitol Hill.

"What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States," Romney wrote. "Those who choose to continue to support his dangerous gambit by objecting to the results of a legitimate, democratic election will forever be seen as being complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy. They will be remembered for their role in this shameful episode in American history. That will be their legacy."

"No Congressional led audit will ever convince those voters, particularly when the President will continue to claim that the election was stolen," the Republican from Utah continued. "We must not be intimidated or prevented from fulfilling our constitutional duty. We must continue with the count of electoral college votes. In light of today’s sad circumstances, I ask my colleagues: Do we weigh our own political fortunes more heavily than we weigh the strength of our Republic, the strength of our democracy, and the cause of freedom? What is the weight of personal acclaim compared to the weight of conscience?"

MITT ROMNEY: "What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States." pic.twitter.com/jGO6eTsU1h — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) January 6, 2021

"This vote reveals something about ourselves," Romney concluded. "I urge my colleagues to move forward with completing the electoral count, to refrain from further objections, and to unanimously affirm the legitimacy of the presidential election."

The Capitol Hill complex went on lockdown Wednesday after planned "Stop the Steal" protests devolved into a violent breach of the congressional building — smashing windows, breaking into offices, looting rooms, and forcing an evacuation of Vice President Mike Pence and lawmakers as staff and reporters were told to shelter in place.

At least four protests were scheduled in Washington, D.C., for Wednesday, the day Congress was expected to count the votes of the Electoral College and certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Trump and many of his political supporters, including Roger Stone and George Papadopoulos, attended the protests, which turned into a storming of Capitol Hill.

Trump repeatedly stoked the chaos throughout the day, repeating claims of widespread voter fraud and telling his supporters "we will never give up" and "we will never concede." Those claims have been rejected by state and federal officials, and Trump's and his allies' legal challenges in court have largely been failures.

After the Capitol building was breached, Trump made several appeals for law and order and asked his supporters for peace.

National Guard troops, the U.S. Marshals, and state troops from Maryland and Virginia have been activated and deployed to the capital.

On Tuesday evening, videos emerged of Trump supporters confronting Romney at an airport and while he was on a plane to Washington asking him why he wasn't supporting Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the November election.

Romney can be seen rebuffing one woman at the airport, saying he had would not support efforts "to overturn the election."

“We have a Constitution, the constitutional process is clear,” Romney attempted to explain. “I’ll follow the Constitution, and I’ll explain all that when we meet in Congress this week.”

Another Romney airport confrontation video emerges. This one you can actually see the guy pic.twitter.com/920S5lU4BN — Daniel Chaitin (@danielchaitin7) January 6, 2021

Romney was the sole Republican senator to vote in favor of one of the articles of impeachment against Trump early last year — the first senator ever to vote for the impeachment of a president from the same party. At the time, he said he "agonized" over the decision and "hoped beyond hope that I would not have to find him guilty."

Romney is a former governor of Massachusetts who was the unsuccessful GOP presidential nominee in 2012. He was briefly considered for Trump's first pick for secretary of state, but in the intervening months, Romney has emerged as one of Trump's most outspoken Republican critics.

Violence continued to break out across the capital on Wednesday ahead of Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser's ordered curfew beginning at 6 p.m. A group of reporters were "swarmed and chased" by protesters, tear gas was deployed in the Capitol, and several officers have been injured.