ionigeria.com Nigerian Newspaper
It comes amid investigations into former and current service members suspected of participating in the protest and ensuing riot.
America’s top military leaders have taken the unprecedented step of condemning last week’s violent US Capitol siege and reminding US troops their job is to serve and protect the constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic”.
The joint statement comes amid investigations into former and current military service members and law enforcement officers who are suspected of having participated in the protest and the ensuing riot by supporters of President Donald Trump.
“The violent riot in Washington DC on January 6, 2021 was a direct assault on the US Congress, the Capitol building, and our constitutional process,” said the statement, signed by the eight members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including the country’s most senior general, Mark Milley.
“We witnessed actions inside the Capitol building that were inconsistent with the rule of law. The rights of freedom of speech and assembly do not give anyone the right to resort to violence, sedition and insurrection.
“Any act to disrupt the constitutional process is not only against our traditions, values, and oath; it is against the law.”
Last Wednesday’s uprising, which took place as politicians were counting Electoral College votes to confirm Joe Biden’s election victory, ended in the deaths of five people.
