(WQOW) - Derrick Van Orden, former Republican congressional candidate for Wisconsin's third district, said that he was appalled by what he saw in Washington when he was there in person on Wednesday.
"What happened on Wednesday is one of the most tragic events in the history of our nation," he said.
Van Orden said he went to D.C. to peacefully protest the electoral college vote certification along with a group of others who traveled to the nation's Captiol from La Crosse.
He said he was too far away to clearly hear President Trump speak when he addressed the demonstrators early in the day, and didn't know what was happening at the Capitol building when chaos erupted.
He said he left the area shortly after things got out of control because he did not want anyone to think he, or the people he was with, supported political violence, saying the siege of the Capitol was "absolutely horrific."
"It doesn't matter what group they're affiliated with, and I'm kind of tired of hearing people try to justify these outrageous acts of violence," Van Orden said. "Because it just doesn't matter. Every single person that I'm aware of that entered that building was an American citizen. And it's wrong."
Van Orden said he would like to see people of different political parties stop fighting with each other, and do the hard work to move forward as a country.
