U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-9) today commented on Republicans’ attempt to overturn the election and the rightwing mobs that stormed the U.S. Capitol at Donald Trump’s incitement.

“Today inside the Capitol, Republicans sought to tear down our democracy while the rightwing extremist mob they whipped up outside is violently trying to do the same,” said Rep. Pascrell, who was watching the certification of the Electoral College for President-elect Joe Biden in the House chamber. “This attempted coup is treasonous. It was incited directly by Donald Trump and some Congressional Republicans. When he leaves office Trump must be prosecuted for his crimes, perhaps including his incitement to violence. If the Defense Department blocked the deployment of the National Guard, any one responsible for that must be held accountable and possibly arrested.

“To all the Trump sycophants that followed in his footsteps, to all my Republican colleagues I say this: once the fascist genie has been let out of the bottle, he can’t be forced back in. Violent fascism at the footsteps of our national legislature was fed by Republicans and years of fomenting extremism against our government. They built this. This authoritarianism will not disappear in 14 days. I have been calling for accountability for four years. It cannot be ignored any longer. The long-term preservation of democracy is in our hands right now. It is the challenge of our time to eradicate this poison starting now.”