Oklahoma lawmaker under fire for U.S. Capitol attack statement
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — An Oklahoma Representative is coming under fire from the candidate challenging her seat in the House after comments made on the anniversary ofthe attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Rep. Stephanie Biceissued a statement yesterday that read, in part, "The breach of the U.S. Capitol building and subsequent violence that occurred undermine the very foundation of our Democracy... A peaceful transfer of power is imperative, but I empathize with those whose frustrations with the electoral process remain unresolved."
Abby Broyles, who is challenging Bice in the midterm elections this year, admonished the freshman representative for her comments.
"Stephanie Bice should be ashamed of her comments today saying she 'empathizes with those frustrated' with the 2020 election. As a lifelong Oklahoman, I'm disgusted. Here in Oklahoma City, we know firsthand how people frustrated with the government can cause catastrophic destruction and forever destroy families," Broyles said in a press release. "I vividly remember April 19, 1995, and was reminded of what that act of domestic terror did to our state and country every day I passed the memorial walking into law school more than 20 years later."
Bice was one of 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Rep. Bice's full statement is below:
The events of January 6, 2021 are not a reflection of who we are as a country. The breach of the U.S. Capitol building and subsequent violence that occurred undermine the very foundation of our democracy.
A peaceful transfer of power is imperative, but I empathize with those whose frustrations with the electoral process remain unresolved. Executive and judicial branches in certain states acted in an unconstitutional manner by implementing changes to state election laws, which is clearly a role designated to state legislatures under the U.S. Constitution. As a former state legislator myself, I took my role in passing and enforcing election laws seriously and want to make sure citizens in other states have full confidence in their election systems, too.
Unfortunately, there has been little action by the select committee to discover what led to the security failure that day. Instead, Democrats are solely focused on the actions of the former president and his associates, rather than the security of one of the beacons of our democracy and the safety of the people who work there.
For over 245 years, the United States of America and our institutions have remained durable, and I hope they are never again tested in this way.