Dusty Johnson condemns riots and asks for unity: ‘We need to come together’

South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson hosted a town hall event Wednesday night and took questions regarding the protests and riots in Washington D.C., the Electoral College certification vote and the possible use of the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office.

The second-term Congressman denounced rioters who shut down the Capitol building, delaying the Electoral College certification process in both the House and Senate for hours. The sequence of events resulted in the deaths of four people, including 35-year old Ashli Babbitt.

But Johnson also questioned if deadly force was necessary by Capitol police officers in quelling the disturbance.

“I would have not stormed the Capitol. I think it is wrong and inexcusable,” Johnson said. “I think she should have been arrested and held accountable. I just don’t think the punishment for that is death.”

South Dakotans participating in the call questioned Johnson’s leadership for not objecting to the certification as the country’s 46th president.

Earlier:Johnson, Thune won’t object to electoral college results giving presidency to Biden

Many callers said they felt a more thorough review of election results should have taken place before Congress confirmed Biden’s victory.

Johnson, though, refuted that the election results haven’t been vetted.

“I will push back on the idea that there has not been a full analysis of these election results,” he said. “Myself or my team, I bet we spent 1,000 hours running through some of these allegations.” 

When it comes to the number of lawsuits Trump and his allies filed contesting election results, Johnson noted that no court determined that there was any merit to the litigation, including one’s presided over by Trump-appointed judges.

“There has been no court-filed evidence that has convinced any of the 60 courts that the claims of widespread fraud are credible,” Johnson said. “I am not saying I agree with it, but there is not a lot of evidence.”

Amid the fall-out of civil unrest at the Capitol, which the president has been accused of fueling with his false claims of widespread voter fraud, members of Congress and other political influencers have called for the removal of Trump from office through the 25th Amendment. Johnson isn’t one of them, telling constituents during the call that such a move would do more harm to the country than good by sowing more division.

“I think right now is the time where we need to come together and we need healing,” said Johnson. “Jan. 20 is going to be here before we know it and I think it would do as much to divide the nation as almost anything.”

Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify Dusty Johnson’s position on the 2020 election results

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