Camas High School students and staff alike are reacting to the mayhem happening in Washington D.C. 

In the early afternoon of January 6, rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building following a rally led by President Trump. This put a quick pause on the electoral college count in Congress to certify the Presidential election of President-Elect Joe Biden.

At the same time, the siege erupted a fire of discourse across the nation. Even in downtown Camas, around 25 protesters gathered in front of City Hall but did not stay for more than an hour. 

Students on social media responded to the day’s events. Freshman Kendall Williams said, “They [protesters] are making the Republican side look like a bunch of hypocrites! Shame on them. Listen to Trump and go home.” 

“This is insanity… The same people who claim to be pro-democracy are preventing our constitutional processes,” said Sophomore Erin Connelly.

Freshman William Lane simply said, “It is a coup” as well as “an act of terrorism.”

Many students at Camas have been outspoken about their disapproval on social media. Some are reposting photos taken of the raid and adding their thoughts alongside these photos. 

Mark Tomasetti, a CHS US history teacher, said, “Quite frankly, I’m sickened by what I have been watching today. Our Capitol Building has only been breached like this one time before and that was during the War of 1812 when Washington DC was burned down. This isn’t democracy. This isn’t who we are.”

Local Congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler also released a statement today describing how Capitol Police barricaded her and other Congressional leaders on the House floor and told them to put on gas masks and get down. As police ushered them out, Beutler said an officer told her there were four bombs found right off the campus.

Beutler asked in her statement, “Is this the America we want to give to our children? A country of lawlessness and mob rule?”

Beutler closed with,  “Please, be peaceful and stand down. Nothing is more important to me as a Representative than the preservation of our Constitutional republic.”