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Barrie politicians 'deeply concerned,' 'saddened' by storming of U.S. Capitol

'This violence and disorder is the result of the rising tribalism that grows from a politics that chooses to incite fear and anger among a minority of supporters,' says Barrie mayor

Reaction from local politicians to Trump supporters storming the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Wednesday afternoon was one of dismay.

“I am deeply concerned with what I have seen,” said John Brassard, Barrie-Innisfil MP. “The peaceful transition of power has consistently been observed and respected in western democracies and my sincere hope is that calm will be restored very soon in the U.S. capital.”

The protest was staged by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump, who urged his backers to come to Washington to protest Congress’ formal approval of President-elect Joe Biden's win in last November’s general election. This process was underway when the protests began.

Both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives abruptly suspended proceedings as dozens of people breached security perimeters at the Capitol.

Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman said much will be written about what happened in Washington Wednesday afternoon, and offered his take.

“This violence and disorder is the result of the rising tribalism that grows from a politics that chooses to incite fear and anger among a minority of supporters, instead of inspiring a common purpose among the majority,” he said. “While we can be proud that we live in a peaceful society, this tribalism has grown around the world where populism has embraced conspiracy theories and dehumanized its opponents, even here in Canada. 

“The erosion of civil society begins with abandoning truth; there is a straight line from (Trump’s senior counselor) Kelly Conway's ‘alternative facts’, through (conspiracy theory) QAnon, to what we are seeing today,” Lehman added. 

Several Republican lawmakers have backed Trump's calls that he won the election and was cheated by Biden’s victory, despite no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing in the November election.

“I’m saddened for my American friends, and more convinced than ever that the greatest challenge of our time is tribalism versus pluralism,” Lehman said. “Our politics is influenced by what we see south of the border, and one of my takeaways today is how, taken to its extreme, the politics of division can ultimately lead to violence even in the heart of government.

“The foundation of peace, order, and good government is a commitment to each other," he added. "It feels a little more fragile today when we see what's happening next door, and so we need to double down on protecting it.”

There were repeated calls for Trump to make a public statement to tell his supporters to leave the Capitol, including one from Biden. The president posted a video statement on Twitter, first repeating his claims that the election had been stolen and then asking his supporters to go home.

“I know you're hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side, but you have to go home now. We have to have peace," Trump said.