After Mob Broke Into Capitol, Local Rep. Grabbed Baseball Bat for Protection
U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, who represents Fayette County as well as several other area counties was in the U.S. Capitol Wednesday when it was stormed by mobs.
He was interviewed on Good Morning America Thursday morning by Robin Roberts.
He said after fleeing the house floor and going to office chambers, “We barricaded the door with a big couch ... we were very concerned that they were going to break the door down.”
McCaul said at one point he grabbed a baseball bat that was in the office if needed to protect himself and his staffers.
“Rhetoric has consequences – it certainly did in this case. The good news is we went back to work… and we certified the election. And that is what Congress is supposed to do,” McCaul said on the show.
Seventeen of the 25 Texas Republicans in Congress objected to counting the electoral college votes for President-elect Joe Biden.
McCaul was one of just eight Texas Republicans who voted to certify the vote.
McCaul said he voted to certify because “if Congress chooses to ignore or second-guess the electoral votes cast by the states, it will set a dangerous precedent that could call into question the very institution of our democracy.”
In the midst of the chaos McCaul posted these statements online:
• “The violence and destruction we are witnessing in the Capitol is an assault on our democracy.”
• “Let me be clear, anyone who breached the Capitol today, or participated in the violence, should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
McCaul is currently serving his eighth term representing Texas’ 10th District in the United States Congress. The 10th Congressional District of Texas stretches from the city of Austin to the Houston suburbs and includes Austin, Bastrop, Colorado, Fayette, Harris, Lee, Travis, Washington and Waller Counties.
In other statements McCaul made related to the incidents of Wednesday:
• “Yesterday was a sad and dark day for our country. I am beyond thankful to Capitol Police for defending the U.S. Capitol and I was horrified to see the mobs overwhelm them.”
• “Please join me in praying for the family, friends and colleagues of fallen Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. I am forever grateful to the law enforcement officials who risk their lives each day for the safety of others.”
Sicknick died on Jan. 7 due to injuries he sustained while on duty responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, at the U.S. Capitol. He was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He later returned to his division office and collapsed.