KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Local lawmakers are speaking out about the riots at the U.S. Capitol. Some were in the middle of the chaos, others were just blocks away. All of them are condemning the violence.
Congressman Tim Burchett was there as rioters breached doors into the Capitol.
"The doors on the back, they started banging on the doors," he said.
He said he stayed on the floor of the Capitol to help others as lawmakers were being evacuated away from mobs of rioters.
"They started bringing in bookshelves and stuff to put against the doors, equipment and stuff," he said.
Now safe, he's calling out the rioters for their actions.
"You really just got a bunch of thugs out there, dirtbags," said Burchett. "They don't represent me, they don't represent the people of East Tennessee. What we were doing on the floor was constitutional but what those folks were doing was not constitutional."
Blocks away, Congressman Chuck Fleischmann was going into lockdown during the riot. He is also is calling out those involved.
"I have always said Americans have the right to peacefully protest," he said. "This is not that."
Governor Bill Lee tweeted during the riot that the violence happening in the U.S. Capitol is inexcusable. He also thanked law enforcement for their professionalism during the riots.
Senator Marsha Blackburn sent out multiple tweets. One was directed at protestors. In it, she said that they disrupted the democratic process and they should be ashamed of themselves.
And hours before rioters stormed in, Senator Bill Hagerty retweeted a photo from the Trump rally pointing out Tennesseans in the crowd. Shortly after, he posted a tweet condemning the violence. He said that the U.S. is a nation of laws and that violence like the riots must stop.