Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 ‘reprehensible,’ SC’s Rice says on anniversary of Capitol riot
South Carolina’s top lawmakers sounded off one the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, but none more direct than the state’s Myrtle Beach House Republican who voted to impeach the former president for his involvement.
South Carolina Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Rice blamed former President Donald Trump on the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, calling Trump’s actions that day “nothing short of reprehensible.”
Rice, the sole South Carolina House GOP member to vote to impeach Trump after the riot, called Jan. 6 “the day we nearly lost the country out Founders fought for and left for us to preserve.”
“January 6th tested the fibers of our democracy and very well could have brought down our country,” Rice said in a statement Thursday. “Any reasonable person could have seen the potential for violence that day. Yet, our President did nothing to protect our country and stop the violence. The actions of the President on January 6th were nothing short of reprehensible.”
One year ago, pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol, breaking past police barricades, aiming to stop Congress’ certification of the 2020 election results, showing now President Joe Biden the winner. For hours, the riot disrupted Congress’ vote, sending lawmakers and staff into hiding while rioters broke into House and Senate chambers and members’ offices. As a result, many were injured, including Capitol Police officers, and some died.
More than 700 people have been charged with involvement in the riot, including at least 11 in South Carolina.
On Thursday, South Carolina’s senior senator and Trump ally, Republican Lindsey Graham, said he still could not believe a mob broke into the Capitol. But he also criticized Biden’s one-year anniversary speech, calling it “brazen politicization.”
“Those responsible for Capitol security, including our political leaders, must also be held accountable,” Graham said. “We still do not know who planted the pipe bombs on Capitol Hill the night of January 5. We still do not know why our Capitol was not adequately defended before President Trump spoke.”
Rice said the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next is a hallmark of American democracy. He celebrated that that trait survived the Jan. 6 riot.
“America is resilient. We are often tested, but we will overcome even the most onerous challenges,” Rice said. “We all must do our part to unite, not divide, and ensure something like January 6th never happens again in this great country.”
Though once in lockstep with Trump before January 2021, Rice has since shifted away from the former president in the one year since. A year later, Rice has become more vocal, saying the Republican Party needs to shift away from the “divisive” former president.
“The GOP existed before Trump was the candidate,” Rice said in an interview this week. “The ideas that we promote haven’t changed before, during and since Donald Trump. And the ideals will exist long after Trump is an afterthought.”
Rice stunned political watchers when he joined House Democrats and nine other Republicans to vote to impeach Trump for his involvement during and after the riot.
Recently, Rice said he regretted voting against certification of 2020 election results in two battleground states. Rice also voted to support a commission to investigate Jan. 6, making him one of few Republicans to do so.
Rice’s actions have drawn several primary challengers for his seat, up for election in November.
“If you hadn’t noticed,” he joked to supporters in Florence in November, “y’all made my next campaign a little more interesting than the ones in the past.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 9:29 AM.
