Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler and House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff issued the following statement late Wednesday after protesters breached security at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Cutler and Benninghoff said “Any act of violence or destruction is a crime and should be treated as such.” The two said that peaceful transitions of power are something our country has responsibly proceeded with since our founding and should serve as an inspiration to the rest of the world. An objection to the electoral process is within the rights of members of Congress and has been exercised by members from both sides of the aisle at different times in our nation’s history. However, that process leads to debate and dialogue, not violence and mayhem. They both said they strongly condemn any act of violence and destruction and pray for all those impacted.