Wisconsin lawmakers respond after attack on US Capitol

WASHINGTON (NBC26) — Wisconsin lawmakers convey powerful messages to constituents and President Trump following Wednesday's riots at the Capitol building.

Supporters of President Trump breached the U.S. Capitol building Wednesday afternoon as legislators began to certify President-elect Joe Biden's presidential victory.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, (R) 8th District, said he was in an office building at Capitol Hill when the riot started. Gallagher said he heard flash grenades go off in the distance as the situation became more violent.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. Certainly not in D.C. The closest equivalent is what I saw in Iraq when I was deployed," Gallagher said. "It was a dark day for sure. I never thought it would come to this."

Gallagher said he felt objectors to the Electoral College results gave people false hope that they’d be able to change the results of the election even though they "know it's not true."

In a video posted on Twitter, Gallagher implored Trump to take action.

"Mr. President, you have got to stop this," Gallagher said in the video. "You are the only person who can call this off. Call it off. The election is over. Call it off. This is bigger than you. It’s bigger than any member of Congress. It’s about the United State of America, which is more important than any politician. Call it off. It’s over.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, (R) Wisconsin, also took to Twitter to comment on the incident. He thanked Capitol police for their service during the riot and condemned all "lawless activity."

“It never should’ve happened. Peaceful protests are one thing, but this was not a particularly peaceful protest. Or a lawful protest," Johnson said.

While in the Senate chamber for Wednesday's joint session, Johnson recalled Secret Service officials calling Vice President Mike Pence out of the presiding chair. Johnson said he thought they were changing presiding officers, but officials sealed off the chamber. Capitol police eventually cleared a way for everyone to leave the Capitol and get into Senate office buildings.

In an interview, Johnson said he still feels all allegations of election fraud need to be investigated.

“The only solution I can see to this is for transparency, investigation - look into these allegations," Johnson said. "The things that can be explained, set those off aside. The things that can’t be explained - or the wrong doing that is found - it takes time to do these investigations. You need to come up with a solution so that we can restore the confidence and legitimacy of our electoral process.”

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, (D) Wisconsin, posted on Twitter Wednesday night in response to rioters storming the Capitol. She stated "Trump will not stop this attack on our democracy," and asked Congress to get back to work.

Congress reconvened Wednesday night to confirm Electoral College results.