Graham calls for prosecution of rioters ‘to the fullest extent of the law’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday called for the prosecution of the rioters who stormed the Capitol building “to the fullest extent of the law.”

Graham, a staunch ally of President Trump, condemned the mob that overtook the Capitol building on Wednesday as Congress prepared to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. 

“Those who made this attack on our government need to be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Graham tweeted. “Their actions are repugnant to democracy.”

Those who made this attack on our government need to be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Their actions are repugnant to democracy.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 6, 2021

In an additional tweet, the South Carolina senator said he “could not agree more” with Biden’s Wednesday comments, when the president-elect called the riot an “insurrection.” 

“I could not agree more with President-elect Biden’s statement to the nation,” Graham tweeted. “Time to retake the Capitol, end the violence, & stop the madness. Time to move forward in governing our nation. Our differences are real but the love of our nation overwhelms our differences.”

I could not agree more with President-elect Biden’s statement to the nation.

Time to retake the Capitol, end the violence, & stop the madness.

Time to move forward in governing our nation.

Our differences are real but the love of our nation overwhelms our differences.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 6, 2021

Biden addressed the nation Wednesday afternoon about the events in Washington during time originally set aside to talk about the economy.

“Let me be very clear — the scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not reflect a true America, do not represent who we are.

“What we are seeing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness,” the president-elect said. “This is not dissent. It’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition and it must end now.”

Moments after Biden’s address, Trump released a video on Twitter in which he called on the rioters to “go home in peace” but reiterated claims that his election loss was “fraudulent.”

Federal election officials have stated that the 2020 election was one of the safest in U.S. history, and former Attorney General William Barr said last year that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud that occurred during the contest. 

Both the House and the Senate had to halt debate over the objection to the election results in Arizona after the mob stormed the Capitol building. Both chambers of Congress were evacuated from the area as the mob made its way to both chambers.

Scenes from the day show the rioters breaking Capitol glass and even vandalizing members’ offices. 

The crowd flocked to the Capitol after Trump addressed them in a speech earlier Wednesday and acknowledged that they were going to march toward the Capitol to encourage lawmakers not to certify the vote. 

Several Republicans committed to objecting to the Electoral College vote on Wednesday, but Graham announced he would not join the effort, calling it “a political dodge.”