Sen. Dan Sullivan recalls experience during riot inside US Capitol

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Sen. Dan Sullivan is still trying to process what he witnessed this week on Capitol Hill.

“I wasn’t scared, I was just mad,” Sullivan said as he recalled Wednesday’s riot when protesters stormed the building.

“These mobs literally broke into the Capitol, defiled the historic halls of this sanctuary of democracy,” said Sullivan, as he and others in Congress gathered to certify the electoral votes regarding the presidential election.

Anger gave way to another emotion.

“We’re a great nation, we’re a beacon to so many nations that look to us,” Sullivan said. “To see this happening in our great nation brought me sadness.”

Things started off quite differently inside the Senate and House of Representatives. That would not last.

“You started to hear more and more yelling which is unusual because we’re on the Senate Floor, and that’s not normally the case,” recalled Sullivan.

The sergeant-at-arms entered and got Vice President Mike Pence out of the chamber. He then locked it down for security reasons.

Sullivan said he did not panic.

“As we were coming out, Sen. Murkowski grabbed my arm, mentioned my background as a Marine, and I said to her ‘let’s get out of here,’” Sullivan said. “Kind of went arm-in-arm down some steps, through some tunnels, and told to relocate in one of the large conference rooms in one of the Senate office buildings.”

Sullivan and the other members of Congress eventually returned to their respective chambers, to finish the job interrupted by violence.

Sullivan wants those arrested in connection with the riot punished to the fullest extent of the law.

What he doesn’t want to see is Pence invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office.

Many Democrats in Congress have called for the action as they blame the president for the violence. Sullivan believes with less than two weeks left in the Trump Administration, the nation should focus on a safe transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden.

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