Western Pa. residents share experiences from chaotic day in nation's capital

Southwestern Pennsylvanians who traveled to Washington on Tuesday reacted to the chaotic scene that unfolded, as what they anticipated to be a peaceful protest devolved into a violent mob at the U.S. Capitol.

Pro-Trump protesters attended a rally with the president — who did little to calm his supporters — before marching to the Capitol complex and swarming the building.

Both chambers of Congress were forced into recess and lawmakers were evacuated. A woman part of the mob trying to force their way into the House chamber was shot to death by a Capitol Police officer, tear gas was deployed on the Capitol Rotunda and protesters ransacked offices before police, FBI officers and National Guard were able to restore order.

Congress reconvened to confirm Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election after the hours-long interruption, widely condemned by leaders worldwide. Trump has alleged voter fraud, while no supporting evidence has surfaced.

Zach Scherer of Chicora organized a bus trip to participate in the rally. When his buses pulled out from a mall in Butler County on Tuesday, he had no idea his group would be “fearing for our lives” later in the day.

They attended the rally and marched to the Capitol with a throng of Trump supporters. While their group had no intentions of violence, Scherer said, they saw it devolve into chaos. They were at the Capitol for about 20 minutes before screaming and shoving began, he said.

“People got a little chaotic, people were getting shoved around,” Scherer said. “With the group that I had, there was no intentions of marching into the Capitol or hurting anybody, but I did see a few hundred people who were being violent. They wanted in there and they were going to do harm.”

He said he watched people climb walls and force their way into the Capitol.

One woman from their bus trip suffered a head injury after being pushed during the march to the Capitol complex. They were on the steps of the Capitol when tear gas was deployed, making it hard to breathe, Scherer said.

“It was just a scary situation,” he said. “We were fearing for our lives when we heard shots were fired, but there was nowhere to go because of the crowds. I wasn’t expecting almost a war to break out at the Capitol.”

After the trip to Washington, Scherer’s group returned to the Butler County shopping mall where they’d parked their cars to find 20 vehicles with flattened tires.

Scherer said police are investigating and he’s grateful for those who stepped in to help.

Clyde Chafer, who took two busloads of people from Pittsburgh to Washington, said the vast majority of protesters were peaceful and had no intentions of entering the Capitol

Chafer was about 150 feet from the steps of the Capitol when police used tear gas on them, he said. He claimed that the part of the crowd getting gassed was peacefully chanting.

While he voiced frustrations about election integrity, he said violence was never the goal and claimed those who violently stormed into the building were not representative of the group at large.

“We were there to support our country,” Chafer said. “This isn’t about just Donald Trump — it’s about our way of life and our country. Our government is totally out of control.”

Chafer said most of the people who gathered in D.C. yesterday were there to take a peaceful stance. In the busloads of people he brought from Pittsburgh, Chafer said, there was a diverse group of “God-loving, country-loving people,” ranging in age from 16 to 83.

“The people that love this country do not do that,” he said. “We do not riot.”

The rally itself was enthusiastic, but peaceful, said Michele Nagoda of Export. She attended the initial rally with her son, but didn’t march to the Capitol afterward.

“It was extremely peaceful and loving — celebratory, yet worried about the impending end of the election cycle. There was no drinking, no fighting, nothing like that,” she said of the rally.

But she realized something unusual was happening as the rally came to a close.

‘Rush the capitol’? ‘Not our thing’

“There was a young woman walking rapidly up one of the pathways in this area where we were by the Washington Monument. She’s walking up the pathway and in a very loud voice, she was yelling to people, ‘After the rally, everybody come with us to rush the Capitol.’ We just looked at each other, like, ‘Yeah, we’re not going to do that.’ That’s not our thing,” Nagoda said, adding she believed most people there had no intentions of vandalizing, rioting or turning to violence.

Nagoda said she never felt unsafe during the rally, but she was glad she didn’t witness the chaotic scene unfold at the Capitol.

Ultimately, Nagoda said, she was “devastated” by what unfolded — but she maintained the president was not to blame.

Scherer said he felt Trump reacted “very well,” commending a message Trump issued to protesters. His message said “we love you” and “you’re very special” before urging them to “go home in peace,” while repeating his false claims that the election was fraudulent.

Twitter removed the video and other posts by Trump that incited violence, and locked his account. On Thursday, Facebook banned Trump indefinitely, at least through Inauguration Day.

Wendy Bowes of Peters Township helped organize buses taking people from the area to Washington, though she did not attend the trip herself. She said she believed the intentions of most were peaceful. Based on reports from her brother and others who were there in person, she said she believes a small group of instigators ruined the day for the majority, who wanted to peacefully take a stance against an election they deemed unfair.

“Our people, Trumpers, were pulling back. Then a handful go forward and start the damage,” she said, drawing from stories her brother shared from his position near the gates of the Capitol. “It was a small group that started a problem and some of the Trump fans followed. I don’t think they had any idea that it meant injuring somebody.”

Three people died of medical emergencies during the riot.

A surge of National Guard troops — including 1,000 from Pennsylvania — have been called in to keep the peace before Biden’s inauguration.

“This is a very ugly smudge on American history,” said Nagoda.