Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan: 'No Question' President Trump Is Responsible For Inciting US Capitol Riot
ANNAPOLIS (WJZ) — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday that President Trump is responsible for inciting the riots outside the U.S. Capitol, adding that he is ashamed of some GOP members of Congress who still supported the theory of a "rigged" election even after the attack.
"There is no question in my mind that he was -- he was responsible for inciting this, this riotous mob. This was an insurrection," Hogan told Tapper on the same program Sunday. "You know, they stormed the Capitol, and threatened to kill the vice president and put the lives of people in danger. And he had a huge part, a huge role to play in that."
RELATED COVERAGE:
- Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford Joins Calls For President Trump To Resign
- After Excusing Violence, President Trump Acknowledges Biden Transition
- Calls For Removal Of Rep. Andy Harris After Alleged Scuffle On House Floor During Election Certification Vote
- Lawmakers Vow To Investigate Police After U.S. Capitol Breach
- Maryland Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger Calls On Lawmakers To Invoke 25th Amendment, Remove President Trump From Office
The governor said America would be "better off" if President Trump resigned or was removed just a day after the riots broke out at the US Capitol.
He reiterated on Sunday that within minutes of hearing about the attack, he mobilized State Police and the National Guard. But, the issue was, it took about 90 minutes to get approval to send those units into DC and he said he still doesn't know why that was. He also questioned why Capitol Police weren't more prepared.
"The big issue is why were the capitol police and the federal law enforcement agencies not prepared for this? Why were we coming in to do a clean-up operation afterwards?" Hogan said.
The FBI has already identified several people who it believes are behind the violence at the Capitol. It's Baltimore Field office tweeted the agency is accepting digital media of the rioting as part of its investigation.
Gov. Hogan said he is embarrassed and ashamed of many GOP members of Congress for their actions leading up to and after the attack. This includes Maryland's sole Republican congressman, Rep. Andy Harris.
He dodged a question from Tapper about if Maryland's sole Republican congressman, US Rep. Andy Harris, should resign after he objected to certifying Biden's win and then was involved in a scuffle in the House chamber.
While he said he wasn't sure what Harris should do, Hogan did say he was outraged by "some of the things he said and did."
"This is a time for choosing in our party and you have to decide if we're going to return to the party of Lincoln and Reagan or we're going to keep heading down this path of worshipping at the altar of Donald Trump and a lot of people, I think chose wrongly."
The governor said his main concern is a peaceful transition of power and focusing on the role Maryland can play in those efforts.
The Maryland National Guard contingency will stay in DC through the inauguration and the end of January.
