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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: January 11, 2021
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PRESS RELEASE Kimberly Edds Public Information Officer Office: 714-347-8405, Cell: 714-504-1917 |
Orange County District Attorney’s Office Assisting Federal, State Efforts
to Hold Rioters Responsible for Siege on U.S. Capitol Accountable
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer issued the following statement to condemn the violence at the U.S. Capitol building and discuss the actions the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is taking to hold those responsible accountable:
The violence and destruction carried out at the U.S. Capitol building demonstrated a sickening disregard for our American democracy and the rule of law. We will not allow the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment to be distorted in a misguided attempt to shield extremists and domestic terrorists who are hell-bent on inciting violence and destroying the ideals that make up the fabric of our American democracy.
We have been working since day one with our federal, state, and local partners as well as the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center to aggressively pursue those involved in criminal activity related to the events at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
Members of the public can help by providing tips, information, and videos of illegal activity to fbi.gov/USCapitol
The American people can rest assured that we will find those responsible and hold them accountable.
There is nothing more sacred to the American people than the sanctity of an election. That ballot and that vote represents the individual desire of the direction that voter wishes this Country to go.
No vote – and no voter – carries more weight than another. We are all equal. That is the very beauty of America – and the ideals we hold so dear.
What we saw unfold in one of the most sacred buildings on one of the most sacred days betrayed that beauty. What we saw was ugly.
A Capitol police officer dragged and beaten to death by a mob of rioters. The Confederate flag being paraded past portraits of presidents who committed themselves to eradicating the Confederacy. Legislators elected to represent their residents hiding behind chairs and desks with nowhere to go while rioters in tactical gear armed with zip ties stalked the rows looking for their prey.
One of Orange County’s own representatives – Congressman. Lou Correa – surrounded by an angry mob of people at the Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. as he tried to catch a flight back to the district he represents. The people he was elected to represent.
This is not America. This is not who we are or what we stand for.
The way we stand up is by holding those responsible for these atrocities accountable.
Justice will be served.