Mississippi elected officials and other politicos responded to the violent outbreak Wednesday afternoon at the U.S. Capitol

• U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican, said in a statement: “To everyone who has asked, I am safe. I thank the brave men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police and federal law enforcement for their work to bring this lawlessness and violence in the Capitol building to an end.”
• U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, tweeted: “Locked in Capitol and securing face mask for members… These thugs have no respect for our democracy.”
• U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly, a Republican, tweeted: “Please keep protests peaceful and lawful. I condemn all acts of violence.”
• Republican Gov. Tate Reeves: “Political violence is always wrong. Law and order must win over mob rule. The country we love desperately needs prayer and God’s protection.”
• “I am appalled,” Mike Chaney, the state’s insurance commissioner and Republican Party stalwart, tweeted on Wednesday before quickly deleting the tweet. “A lifelong Republican, one of my worst fears has come true with weak leadership destroying the country and idiots destroying democracy and the Republican Party. Those destroying our Capitol need to be prosecuted!”
• State Rep. Robert Johnson, the House Democratic leader from Natchez, said: “This is a sad day for the country… One person could stop this. I just wish that he would. I am appalled. If it had been a group of African Americans breaking into the Capitol with guns, people would not be standing around watching the Capitol be destroyed.”
• State Rep. Shane Aguirre, a Republican from Tupelo, said: “It is sad to see. Violence and destruction of property is no way to express yourself. I do not condone it in any way.”
• State Sen. David Blount, a Democrat from Jackson, tweeted: “The logical conclusion to an amoral criminal presidency.”
• Lucien Smith, former chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, tweeted: “We should all remember opportunists like Senator Hawley, whose dishonest rhetoric contributed to today’s violence, egging on sedition. He and his ilk are not worthy of the offices they hold.”
• Brandon Presley, Democratic public service commissioner: “This scene at the Capitol in Washington is despicable and horrifying. Every American should be praying for the safety all members of Congress and law enforcement. Silence is complicity at this point for anyone who nibbles around the edges. America is NOT governed by mobs.”

From Mississippi Today.