Jan 7, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Sen. Jeff Merkley says rioters stole laptop, left "trail of destruction"

Merkley.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) tweeted a video on Wednesday showing the pro-Trump mob that invaded the U.S. Capitol left "a trail of destruction" in his office.

The state of play: Merkley said the rioters stole a laptop, and the video showed the office littered with debris, cabinets removed from their casing, objects and chairs strewn across the floor, and cigarette butts left in various places. The door to the office was taken off its hinges.

  • "It was unlocked," Merkley said. "[T]hey could have simply opened the door."
  • “They stole the laptop that was sitting on the table,” Merkley said in the video.
  • "What happened today was an assault by the domestic terrorists who stormed the Capitol," Merkley said.

"A trail of destruction"

Rioters left behind trash and defaced statues throughout the building. One member of the mob who looted the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was seen in a photograph sitting in one of the rooms with his feet on a desk.

Trash next to a statue at the Capitol.
Photo: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images
Trash on the floor of Congress.
Photo: Frank Thorp, via Twitter
Trash in the Capitol.
Photo: Frank Thorp, via Twitter
A statue in Congress defaced with paint.
Photo: Frank Thorp, via Twitter
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