WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Just like the rest of us, Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg was watching in disbelief on Wednesday as an insurrection occurred at the US Capitol building for the first time in more than a century.
“You do worry about this, you worry about the rhetoric and how charged it was,” said Rosenberg on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the incident happened.
The insurrection occurred as Congress was counting the results of the Electoral College vote, the final step in certifying Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next President and Vice President of the United States. The violence led to two deaths, including one Capitol Police Officer, damage to the Capitol Building and several windows, and looting. Some Lawmakers had their offices broken into as well.
Surveillance footage and social media videos have led to numerous arrests in the case. That includes one Arkansas man who was photographed in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. A state lawmaker from West Virginia also stepped down from his position after he was photographed in the crowd.
Rosenberg says she began to realize the gravity of the situation when friends and family started sending her text messages asking if she was OK and safe. She also had conversations with Police officials about what could happen in the event something like this were to go down in Wausau.
“We’re fine, I’ve got a panic button,” she said, pointing to the area of her desk where the button is mounted. “And when it comes to Wausau, we are very on it when it comes to safety. I’ve been in contact with the police chief multiple times about this, and I don’t have any reason to believe that anybody would be coming here and doing anything like that.
“But, if they do, good luck, we are very safe,” she added.
Rosenberg has attended nearly every Presidental inauguration since the 1990s with her family. Though she says she will likely skip this year’s event due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic and the increased tensions between both parties in Washington. While it remains unclear when the former will be solved, she says the latter is much more controllable.
“The last four years, even these last twelve years have been a wild ride. We gotta get it together, we have to have expectations of our representatives that we will not be stoking these political fires forever. We are going to get down to the job of governing,” she said.
Other topics Rosenberg discussed with WSAU’s Mike Leischner include:
Start of video- Discussion on a possible housing task force for the city
9:44- Reflection on Wednesday’s events in Washington
14:40- Pothole hotline
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