To watch Senator Capito’s interview, click here.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Yesterday morning, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined “FOX & Friends” to discuss the attack on two West Virginia National Guard Members. She also expressed support for the death penalty for the attacker.
ON CHARGING THE ATTACKER: “It has been a difficult several days and our hearts and prayers go out for the Beckstroms and for Andrew’s family as well. Losing [Sarah] was a tragedy beyond belief. I agree with the [U.S. attorney] that we should be pressing the ultimate charges, the death penalty for someone who has attacked our National Guard on the streets of Washington, D.C. I think [U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro] is right on track here and I think the American people will definitely support these charges. This is a horrific attack, a terrorist attack, on our peacekeepers. Sarah and Andrew were there to keep peace in our capital city, to be a part of the presence there so that it could be safer, and they were taken down by the very thing they were trying to prevent.”
ON THE NATIONAL GUARD IN U.S. CITIES: “We’ve had National Guard troops in the capital city since August. The crime statistics are way down. I wonder if my [Democrat] colleagues ever walked around the city and talked to the Guard Members who were there. These are folks who volunteered for the service, had volunteered to serve our country. What they are doing is freeing up the Metropolitan Police in D.C. to be able to deal with the crime that has been running rampant in the city. I would question if my [Democrat] colleagues ever took the time to stop at Union Station and talk to a West Virginia Guardsmen and ask them what are you seeing, how do you feel about this, what types of incidents have you had? There was no pulling out weapons and weaponizing our National Guard. They were a presence there to indicate to civilians, dignitaries, whoever is in the capital city that peace is there and they’re going to feel safe. I reject this hyperbolic rhetoric [Democrats] put forward. I don’t think they spent one minute talking to people in the streets of D.C.”
ON SUPPORTING THE GUARD MEMBERS’ FAMILIES: “West Virginians are a strong bunch. Sarah went to a small school, Webster County High School, she lived in Summersville. These are very small communities that always wrap their arms around each other. I’ve seen so much on social media about the prayers and the warmth coming to those families. Andrew went to Musselman High School, from the Eastern Panhandle, near Martinsburg. His classmates, his teachers, his counselors, his principal, his family have all been reaching out and comforting one another. When this hits one West Virginian, it hits all.”
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