WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) has barricaded himself in a building on Capitol Hill with another congressman while Trump-supporting demonstrators storm the U.S. Capitol.
The protests began amid the certification of Electoral College votes for the November 2020 election, in which President-elect Joe Biden won with 306 electoral votes.
Castro spoke with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday afternoon while barricaded in his office with U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) after his fellow congressman was evacuated from another office.
“It’s very intense. The president has been stirring up people for weeks now and did it himself this morning,” Castro told Stephanopoulos. “At this point, people are obviously looking at what’s going on outside, and (I’m) extremely concerned about some of these folks. They’ve gotten into the Capitol now. You know, you usually have to get ‘magged’ when you come inside the Capitol to make sure you’re not carrying a bomb or a gun or a knife or anything dangerous.”
Castro says people have entered the Capitol without going through proper security protocol, potentially putting more people in danger.
“People have now entered the Capitol without any kind of screening at all, and so it’s a very tense situation for everybody inside,” Castro said.
The San Antonio congressman spoke to KSAT partner The Texas Tribune on Wednesday afternoon. See the video below.
Castro also went live on his Instagram to address his followers about the situation at the Capitol. Watch the video below: