PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — January 6th, 2021 will forever be remembered as a day when an angry mob sacked the capital.
The mob was fired up by rhetoric about a stolen election and at least some of them had hoped to prevent congress from approving the election of then President-Elect Joe Biden.
Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Panama City, was on the floor of the House of Representatives, preparing to vote on the certification of the electoral college vote when the Sergeant at Arms got the call.
“He got the word on his radio and he just went white. The word was that the west end had been breached. That hadn’t happened since 1812,” Dunn said. “So he was rattled. He took off like a shot.”
Dunn, an Army veteran, said he understood what was at stake and immediately followed the safety procedures given to every member of Congress.
“I’m really, pretty attentive when they say the perimeter has been breached you don’t have to say that to me twice,” Dunn said. “You know curiosity did kill the cat.”
Dunn stayed in his office and the trouble outside did not reach him. Still, it was a shocking day. Five people, including a capital police officer, died in the incident. Another police officer committed suicide the next day.
“It was sort of mob mentality. They got caught up in the moment and they did things, if you ask them over a cup of coffee on a calm day, would they do that, they would say, ‘no, never,’ Dunn said. “But I mean, it was just appalling. But I think unfortunately our grandchildren will study that day in history and be disappointed in us.”
He also believes all of the people who invaded the capital must be arrested and charged.
“Prosecute them,” Dunn said. “They became part of a violent, illegal, irrational mob.”
President Donald Trump along with Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley spent weeks telling Trump loyalists that the election was stolen. This has led to some blaming Trump for the insurrection and saying the three men and other Republicans were responsible for the incident.
“I think that we all could have handled that thing a lot better,” Dunn said.
He added that he expects the federal court system, along with the Senate itself will decide where the blame should be placed. But also said that the former president’s rhetoric was an issue.
“I have grave concerns about some of the things he said in his speech that morning,” Dunn said.
After the capital was sacked Dunn joined 146 other Republicans in the house to vote against certifying the electoral college results. Dunn points out that Democrats made similar votes several times over the last few decades.
“People have made point that this was some sort of vote for anarchy or for the mob,” Dunn said. “It was nothing like that at all. What we were doing was saying that this was an irregular election and ipso facto it is. I mean, you are still counting votes two months after the election. I mean, that’s an irregular election.’
Dunn said his vote was also a call to improve election procedures going forward. He also noted that the feedback he’s gotten from his district supports that vote by a margin of 20 to 1.
