Canadians living in the U.S. not surprised by chaos in Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NEWS 1130) — Canadians living in Washington D.C. watched as the chaos unfolded when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in violent protest Wednesday.

Former White Rock resident Radhika Sikhakhane says she was anxiously sitting in her home in Washington, D.C. following a curfew brought in after hours of violence.

“I’ve been hearing sirens. We’ve been under lockdown. And then of course curfew since 6 p.m. so I really haven’t left my place. But from what I can tell it’s very quiet out there, everyone’s kind of scared to go out,” she explains.

Sikhakhane says she lives about 15 minutes away from the Capitol and the White House, and she’s worried of what could happen in the days to come.

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She adds she’s hoping to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration in a couple of weeks, but all of the mayhem that’s played out is giving her some second thoughts.

“[The inauguration] is supposed to be a celebration and now everyone’s kind of rethinking whether or not we should even venture out to see such a historic moment or if we should just stay in, because I don’t think the unrest is going to end tonight. I think over the next two weeks we’re going to see it’s going to get a lot worse than better.”

Massimo Mandarino is a Vancouver man who follows U.S. politics and supports some of Trump’s policies. He says he’s disappointed by what happened.

“I can’t dispute what he done for U.S. — what he’s done to the economy and creating jobs and all that. Am I disappointed today? Yeah, very much so. He had a big opportunity to solidify, who he was as a leader. I think this really killed them,” Mandarino says.

Despite the day of unrest and violence, Sikhakhane says she still has hope for a better future.

“I think this is obviously a state in American history but the American people are resilient and I’ve seen that and you know I still love living here. Despite, you know, the very tumultuous four years. And I just hope this is as worse as it gets and my fingers are crossed.”

Canadian politicians react to violence

Meanwhile, Canadian political leaders are expressing their shock by the violence south of the border.

B.C. Premier John Horgan says in a tweet that all those who believe in democracy should denounce what he calls “this violent disorder.”

He adds intimidation can’t be allowed to disrupt democratic institutions.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also took to Twitter, writing, “horror unfolding in Washington is frightening and it was incited by Donald Trump.. He can end it now, but refuses to. Democracy must not be intimidated. The violence must end.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told NEWS 1130 in an exclusive interview that he was concerned about the situation.

On whether he is confident a transition will see President-Elect Joe Biden move into the White House, Trudeau said he believes the democratic institutions are strong, adding he hopes for the best.

“Hopefully everything will return to normal shortly but we’re going to continue to do what we need to do to make sure that Canadians are well served in our relationship with the United States regardless of how things unfold,” he said.

RELATED: PM Trudeau taking U.S. Capitol lockdown ‘minute by minute,’ hoping for peaceful resolution

As of Wednesday evening, Fire officials took 13 people to area hospitals from protest-related injuries and four people died.

Officials say 47 people were arrested for unlawful entry, and defying a 6 p.m. curfew put in place.

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