Sonoma County Congressmen Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson recount dark day at US Capitol

The two congressmen representing Sonoma County — Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena — both saw warning signs as President Donald Trump repeatedly whipped up his supporters with baseless claims of election fraud following his loss to Joe Biden in November.

But neither thought it would get this bad, this chaotic.

“I never could have imagined anything like this,” Huffman said midday Wednesday, as he sheltered in his Longworth Building office, part of the Capitol Hill complex.

“The fact I could be hunkered down in the U.S. Capitol while a violent coup is unfolding, instigated by an American president. Shots have now been fired. I’m texting colleagues on the House floor now. It was pretty clear once this started snowballing that it was going to be dangerous.”

Aggrieved Trump supporters wound up breaching several buildings on the campus, scuffling with Capitol Police and vandalizing some of the most sacred places in American government.

“I’m kind of riding out my first coup d’etat,” Huffman said by phone. “I’ve never done this before.”

Thompson was in his office in the Cannon Building on Wednesday morning when it was evacuated following news of an explosive device on the grounds. After nearly 90 minutes, he was allowed to return, only to be evacuated again 15 minutes later amid reports of a security breach and gunfire.

He, too, took shelter in Longworth, to the immediate west of Cannon, choosing the library of the House Ways and Means Committee room. One reason: It has a great television.

“Sadly, it didn’t work,” Thompson said. “We had a couple iPads and laptops in there.”

So Thompson and his chief of staff, Melanie Rhinehart Van Tassell, spent several hours there, along with a number of the congressman’s colleagues — “More than the 10 they advised because of COVID,” he said — watching images of the mayhem that swirled just outside their doors.

“We know there are some dangerous people who have latched onto and believe every lie this president has put out,” Thompson said. “There was some anxiety about what might happen today. I certainly didn’t think it would get to this. And I don’t think it would have. We’ve had people here protesting before. But this time the president went out to their rally and encouraged them to be violent. That’s all they needed to hear.”

After goading his angry supporters to storm the Capitol, Thompson and Huffman are now among lawmakers calling for the immediate removal of Trump under the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which empowers the vice president and Cabinet to remove a sitting president who is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." Trump is due to leave office on Jan. 20, with Biden occupying the White House as the nation’s next leader at noon EST. Thompson said that’s too long to wait.

“The United States of America is a beacon of hope for so many countries,” Thompson said. “Today, they saw our republic and democracy be shaken. It’s not good for us, for the world or for a peaceful future. We must do whatever’s necessary to make sure he doesn’t have another chance to cause this sort of mess.”

Huffman was outraged at Trump’s behavior, and by the people around the president who have enabled his blatant disregard for political norms, his inability to accept his election defeat.

“This has totally crossed the threshold into sedition,” Huffman said. “There’s no way you don’t hold Donald Trump and others criminally accountable for what they’re doing right now. This is sedition. This is terrorism.”

He said Trump was directly responsible for Wednesday’s insurrection. “This is not something Trump can blame on an innocent misunderstanding, or on others who misunderstood him. He lit the match and knew exactly what he was doing.”

Huffman, like a lot of Americans, also was baffled by the lack of immediate, forceful action by federal security forces to quell the violence, a sharp contrast with their handling of Black Lives Matter protests last summer. After hours of physical confrontations, threats, destruction of property and at least one death Wednesday, authorities arrested 52 people in connection with the violent protest, but let most of the rioters leave peacefully.

“I’m confused,” Huffman said. “I feel like there is a total disconnect. You have a sense that if these had been Black protesters, they’d be met with a whole different use of force than this genteel response.”

Wednesday’s upheaval disrupted the exuberance for Democrats. Tuesday night, they watched as Democratic challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff appeared to have defeated Republican incumbents in runoffs for Georgia’s Senate seats, ending GOP control of the chamber. With the Senate split 50-50, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will hold the tiebreaking vote in partisan deadlocks as president of the Senate.

Earlier on Wednesday, the two North Coast congressmen were in the process of certifying Biden’s Electoral College victory when a mob of Trump supporters, incited by the president, broke into the Capitol. Thompson said they were discussing the Arizona vote when the first evacuation order came. Just before 5 p.m. EST, lawmakers were alerted that it was safe to leave their shelter areas. They began preparing to take up the certification process again.

Minutes before he expected to join the proceedings, Thompson said he wasn’t sure if the dark scenes of the day would be enough to dissuade a handful of Republican politicians from challenging vote counts. He said they could be debating anywhere between one and six states.

Huffman wasn’t thinking about the electoral process when reached earlier in the horrific day.

“I’m not allowed to go anywhere right now,” he said. “I’m sitting here with emergency hoods in case toxic gas is fired, shades drawn, doors locked, trying to stay in touch with staff and family.”

Huffman was trying to figure out how tumultuous crowd chanting for Trump had unraveled to the point in which a U.S. congressman was confined to his House chambers, listening to the president’s shouting agitators, and the occasional explosion — presumably, concussion grenades — serving as background noise. Huffman was just hoping against hope he wouldn’t have to don that gas mask.

“I probably don’t even know how to use the damn thing,” he said.

You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Skinny_Post.