HARRISBURG, Pa. — Following the events at the U.S. Capitol, some employees at the Pennsylvania State Capitol have been told they can work from home Thursday. PA House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff told all House Republican employees that work in the capitol, that they can work from home Thursday.
Leader Benninghoff, along with Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler this joint statement:
"Any act of violence or destruction is a crime and should be treated as such. Peaceful transitions of power are something our country has responsibly proceeded with since our founding and should serve as an inspiration to the rest of the world. An objection to the electoral process is within the rights of members of Congress and has been exercised by members from both sides of the aisle at different times in our nation’s history. However, that process leads to debate and dialogue, not violence and mayhem. We strongly condemn any act of violence and destruction and pray for all those impacted today.”
FOX43 also spoke to State Rep. Frank Ryan of Lebanon County about his thoughts on the situation. He spoke at a rally protesting the certification of Pennsylvania's General Election results at the State Capitol Tuesday.
"This is really a time for calm. This is a time for a process that's been properly laid out in the Constitution to take place," said Rep. Ryan (R) Lebanon County. "Let's all of us remember that at the end of the day we need to work together and try to rebuild the nation and the types of liberties and freedoms that we all have come to enjoy over those years. So, I'm asking everyone to please be calm, stay realistic, and also really wait until the facts come undone. I don't know the exact size of the crowd, but I understand it was in excess of 100,000. So, I hope we won't let the actions and irresponsible actions of a few people taint the great civil liberties we have of people to peacefully assemble."
House Democratic leadership also condemning the violence yesterday in our nation's capitol. In a joint statement House leadership said,
"For numerous weeks, leaders have failed to speak in a unified bipartisan voice that America respects the rule of law, the peaceful transition of power and the will of the voters to decide our elections. From our state Capitol to our nation’s Capitol people have been cavalier with our democracy and now we have violence in an attempt to overturn our elections through force. We are calling on our Republican colleagues, starting with Speaker Bryan Cutler and Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, to immediately and unequivocally denounce this violence and support the rule of law and the peaceful transition of power. It’s time for all of us to do our part to lead. It’s time for all of us to stand together and urge peace and respect. We demand Republicans will do the right thing and join us today and in days to come to restore the people’s faith in their democracy.”
The State House was not set to be in session Thursday. They will be back in session on Monday.