Former lawmaker Saccone downplays role in violent rally at U.S. Capitol
Former state lawmaker Rick Saccone, who posted on social media Wednesday that he was “storming the capitol” with a group of insurrectionists, now claims that he was unaware of the violence happening around him and that his language was “a figure of speech.”
Saccone admitted Thursday to taking a bus to Washington, D.C., to join “demonstrators” outside the U.S. Capitol, but downplayed the event in which countless supporters of President Donald Trump entered and vandalized the building, including one woman who was shot to death by authorities.
“It was a very peaceful protest,” he said. “It was a good event.”
Saccone painted a very different picture than what Americans watched unfold on live national television Wednesday afternoon when protesters entered the building in a failed attempt to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.
Saccone said the people who participated in the protest felt “their vote wasn’t counted, that they were disenfranchised” and that they were there to “save the nation from a bad outcome.” He said he was among about 300,000 people facing the Capitol from the Pennsylvania Avenue side, and there was music and people were dancing.
While participating in the protest, Saccone posted a video on social media, with a caption that read, “We are storming the capitol. Our vanguard has broken thru the barricades. We will save this nation. Are u with me?”
Saccone, a former Republican state legislator who represented the Mon Valley for eight years and ran unsuccessfully for Congress twice in 2018, said the post was “just a figure of speech kind of thing.”
“It’s hyperbole, that you use when you’re speaking figuratively,” he said Thursday.
That social media post and the ransacking of the Capitol raised the eyebrows of many political observers, including Larry Stratton, who teaches constitutional law at Waynesburg University.
“It was horrifying to hear it described (on his car radio), and then to see the pictures was a shock. I’m sure we’re all feeling that way,” Stratton said. “I was disappointed to see Saccone there in the photos.”
Stratton is preparing for next semester’s classes and plans to use the recent events to explain the importance of the Constitution and orderly transition from one administration to another. He cited the “marvelous moment in world history” when George Washington stepped aside from the presidency to make way for John Adams, who then peacefully gave way to Thomas Jefferson, who had defeated him in the 1800 election.
“This is one of the amazing aspects of our political system, and unfortunately that is now tainted,” Stratton said.
Trump’s refusal to accept his election defeat to Biden – along with Republican lawmakers who tried to block the certification Wednesday – could do lasting damage to America’s standing in the world, Stratton said.
“Our political strength is allegedly political stability. … I think we all shed a tear as Pennsylvania was being so badly criticized,” Stratton said.
One of those questioning Pennsylvania’s election results was U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, who represents Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, along with portions of Westmoreland County. Reschenthaler, who tweeted that Trump “is the BEST president since Lincoln” shortly before the protest, continued to object to certifying Pennsylvania’s vote even after the violence at the Capitol.
That drew the ire of his Western Pennsylvania colleague, U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, who ridiculed Republicans for their efforts to overturn the presidential election results. In his nearly six-minute speech on the House floor early Thursday, Lamb noted that it was the Republican-controlled state Legislature in Harrisburg that spearheaded and passed Act 77 of 2019, which allowed for the opportunity for “no excuse” absentee mail-in voting in Pennsylvania that the GOP is now questioning.
“These objections don’t deserve an ounce of respect. Not an ounce,” Lamb said. “A woman died out there tonight, and you’re making these objections. Let’s be clear about what happened in this chamber today. Invaders came in for the first time since the War of 1812. They desecrated these halls, and this chamber and practically every inch of ground where we work.”
Tensions rose in the chamber after he accused Republicans of lying to the American people, with one Republican congressman attempting to make his way over to Lamb as he spoke.
“Enough has been done here today already to try to strip this Congress of its dignity, and these objectors don’t need to do any more,” Lamb said. “We know that that attack today, it didn’t materialize out of nowhere. It was inspired by lies, the same lies that you’re hearing in this room tonight. And the members who are repeating those lies should be ashamed of themselves (and) their constituents should be ashamed of them.”
Reschenthaler did not respond to requests for comment about his objection to the Electoral College tally.
But the situation appears to have cost Saccone’s position as an adjunct professor. Students, faculty and alumni from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, where Saccone has taught international courses and state and local government for 21 years, began a petition Wednesday seeking his termination. It had nearly 800 signatures as of Thursday morning.
“As alumni, we will withhold any future donations to the college until there is a remedy to this situation,” the online petition page states.
Without naming Saccone, Saint Vincent issued a statement Wednesday evening acknowledging his post and video, and saying that it would be investigated. By Thursday afternoon, Saccone submitted a letter of resignation that was accepted and “effective immediately,” according to the college’s statement.
“We strongly condemn the extreme actions of those in our nation’s capital who engaged in violent and lawless acts against the people, institutions and processes of our democracy,” the statement read. “We believe that all individuals have the right to an opinion, but when beliefs and opinions devolve into illegal and violent activities, there will be no tolerance.”
The statement said that Saccone, an adjunct professor, “will no longer be associated with Saint Vincent College in any capacity.”
Saccone has since taken down the social media posts and videos because “they can be misconstrued,” he said. He said that as soon as he discovered the crowd had in actuality stormed the Capitol, he and his wife left.
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Saccone said. “It’s a tragedy. It’s a shame it’s being blamed on the peaceful people that were there. If I knew that was going to happen, I would not have even went.”