Filipino supporters of outgoing American President Donald Trump were among the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said today.
Speaking with the news program Unang Balita, Romualdez said the Pinoy Trump supporters arrived in Washington D.C. from different parts of the U.S.
“We learned that there were some Trump supports who arrived from different states here in America, but we are not sure how many they were,” Romualdez said.
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Despite the chaos, the Philippine embassy was not affected because it was far from the Capitol. However, the embassy’s staff made sure that the office was protected from the rioters.
“What we did was that we boarded up [the embassy]. Of course, we’re trying to see if there was going to be a spillover [of the conflict] to Massachusetts Avenue where our embassy and chancery are located,” Romualdez said.
Trump supporters attacked the Capitol in a bid to block the proclamation of incoming President Joseph Biden. The mob, who confronted riot police assigned to secure the iconic landmark, were egged on by Trump himself. For the past few months, the businessman turned politician peddled the false narrative that he had been cheated in the 2020 presidential election.
Images and videos of protesters breaking windows and the cops deploying teargas have flooded social media since the chaos began, which resulted in the deaths of four people and the arrest of 52 others. At least 14 Washington D.C. cops were injured during the chaos.
Biden won 81.3 million votes or 51.3% of all votes cast. He defeated Trump by more than 7 million votes. In the electoral college, the former vice president won 306 votes while Trump ended up with 232.
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