Palazzo responds to unrest in Washington

South Mississippi’s congressional representative has responded to the events unfolding in Washington right now.

Congressman Steven Palazzo tells News 25 he and his staff are in a safe place right now and expressed surprise at how events unfolded today.

Palazzo says a majority of protesters in D.C. today were peacefully expressing their first amendment rights, but points to a small number of ‘bad actors’ engaging in vandalism and acts of violence.

The congressman hopes the capitol police and FBI can identity and prosecute those engaging in violent acts and asks people to pray for an end to the unrest. “We’ve got to get beyond this, of this division in our country. It’s ripping us apart, we need to, we’ve got to watch the rhetoric, and that’s coming from both sides. Every night you turned on the news, it’s just coming from both sides, and it’s not doing us any good. The world is watching, our enemies are watching, and what they see is a weak and divided America, and we’re not weak and we just need to become more united.”

Congressman Palazzo says despite the delay, Congress will eventually reconvene and resume the task of counting electoral votes.