By Brian Stone<\/p>\n
DEARBORN, Mich. \u2013 Community leaders and elected officials from the Dearborn area reacted with shock and dismay as pro-Trump insurrectionists broke into the United States Capitol building to terrorize and shut down Congress as they formalized the electoral college win of President-elect Joe Biden.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t the America I know,\u201d said Rep. Debbie Dingell. \u201cShots have been fired. Bombs have been found. Tear gas has been used in the Capitol. And people, including Capitol Police, have been hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dingell’s counterpart from Detroit, who has a big presence in Dearborn’s Arab American community, spoke up forcefully against Trump’s behavior.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is on Donald Trump, period,\u201d said Rep. Rashida Tlaib. \u201cHe called folks to D.C. and gave them marching orders. He needs to be impeached and removed immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Legislators closer to home also called out the terrrorism that occurred at the Capitol.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not enough to hold accountable the domestic terrorists whos tormed the Capitol. We must also hold accountable the countless officials who publicly planned to oppose the results of a free and fair election, and who incited today’s actions, beginning with Donald Trump,\u201d said Rep. Abdullah Hammoud.<\/p>\n
Local elected officials also spoke up about the insurrectionist violence at the Capitol, and reflected on the way it dampens the United States’ respect around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a sad day for America, and as an American I am embarrassed at what people around the world are thinking of us,\u201d said Hussein Berry, President of the Dearborn board of education. \u201cI was impressed with the President-elect’s statements: This is not who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Berry acknowledged that the experience was shocking to many immigrants in Dearborn, many of whom are shocked to find the United States experiencing so much instability.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad is an immigrant and he was asking for my thoughts, and I told him that this last four years was a test of our Democracy and we are going to be fine. Moving forward, we need to start thinking about the country before the party,\u201d said Berry.<\/p>\n