Arizona objection stops electoral vote count
Rep. Paul Gosar raises issue and brings halt to symbolic vote - News 11's Arlette Yousif reports
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Rep. Paul Gosar, (R-Ariz.) brought an abrupt halt to the symbolic Congressional electoral vote count Wednesday with an objection.
Gosar, a staunch Trump supporter, has long challenged the November 3rd General Election results. He raised a number of unverified allegations about the voting process on social media, and lead a number of protests against the ballot counting process in Maricopa County.
Wednesday, he joined forces with Sen. Ted Cruz, (R-Texas), to derail Congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
The objection led the House and Senate to separate for debate.
A short time later, the debate came to an abrupt halt when pro-Trump demonstrators descended on the Capitol. Most migrated from a rally hosted by President Donald Trump.
Trump did not join the protest. He returned to the White House after the rally.
News 11's Arlette Yousif was to meet with Rep. Raúl Grijalva regarding the vote count. However, the meeting has been canceled as a result of the protest. Rep. Grijalva's Communications Director Geoffrey Nolan says that Rep. Grijalva is "safe and secure."
He later had other comments on the tragic day.
“Today’s events will go down as one of the darkest and most shameful days of our republic as domestic terrorists stormed the Capitol in an effort to threaten and intimidate lawmakers into overturning our free and fair elections. They interrupted just as Arizona’s Democratic Delegation began defending the integrity of Arizona’s election and the will of the people to cast Arizona’s Electoral College votes to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. For years, President Trump has engaged in a relentless assault on our values, sought to divide us, and pitted communities against one another. He’s denigrated our institutions, attacked our values, and winked and nodded to the ideas of dangerous militias and conspiracy theorists. What occurred at the Capitol today was the product of Trump and all the havoc he’s wrought on our system—all with the tacit approval of his willing congressional enablers. Calling it a disgrace isn’t enough. It’s an outright abomination to this country, and those who engaged in these acts must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It remains my duty to certify the election and no domestic terrorists will stop that. I will certify the results for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris, and will not yield to conspiracy theorists and zealots attempting to overthrow our government,” Rep. Grijalva's statement on domestic terrorists storming the U.S. Capitol.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, (D-Arizona), also tweeted "I am safe."
Stay with KYMA.com for continuing coverage of the protests, and be sure to watch News 11's Early Edition for reaction to the situation.
