House members call for President Donald Trump’s removal from office as rioting continues in D.C.

Image via AP.

Florida Congress members are calling for the removal of President Donald Trump.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist was the first to call for the use of the 25th amendment to remove Trump as the sitting president Wednesday afternoon. U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings and Val Demings followed, citing the 25th Amendment Wednesday night.

“The 25th Amendment allows for the removal of a President. It’s time to remove the President,” Crist, who represents Florida’s 13th Congressional District, tweeted Wednesday afternoon in response to a mob of the President’s supporters storming the Capitol.

In a tweet, South Florida Congressman Hastings called the violence on Capitol Hill “outrageous, shameful, and a complete assault on our democracy,” and urged for the removal of Trump from office using the 25th Amendment.

Today’s violence on Capitol Hill was outrageous, shameful, and a complete assault on our democracy. The 25th Amendment allows for the removal of a President. @realDonaldTrump must be removed from office immediately!

— Alcee L. Hastings (@RepHastingsFL) January 7, 2021

Earlier in the afternoon, minutes after Crist’s tweet, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar announced via Twitter that she is drawing up Articles of Impeachment, saying, “Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate. We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath.”

I am drawing up Articles of Impeachment.

Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate.

We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 6, 2021

Crist’s tweet came directly after Trump released a video addressing the rioters in Washington. In the video, the President continued to make false claims about a fraudulent election and included a half-hearted call for the insurrectionists to go home.

“I know your pain, I know you’re hurt, we had an election that was stolen from us,” Trump said in the video. “But you have to go home now, we have to have peace.”

Trump ended his address by telling rioters, whom he did not refer to as such, “we love you” and called them “special.”

“I’m not really a big ideological fan of Pence, but at least he’s not, you know, a madman, like we’re witnessing today,” Crist said in an interview with WFLA news. “This is insane. This is horrific.”

The 25th Amendment allows for the removal of a President if he is deemed unable to do his job, handing the role to the Vice President.

The 25th Amendment allows for the removal of a President. It's time to remove the President.

— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) January 6, 2021

Trump’s video drew prompt criticism after hours of unrest in Washington in and around the Capitol as hundreds of Trump supporters breached the building. Critics argued Trump’s call for rioters to go home was appropriate, but his continued assertion of a stolen election only fueled further unrest.

Early reports on the rioting said one unnamed woman was shot and was in critical condition. Later reports said she had died at a Washington hospital.

The mob broke windows and entered the building, causing members of Congress to be evacuated and prompting a halt to the day’s planned certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

The National Guard has been activated to disperse the crowd, which as of 4:45 p.m. had already begun to thin.

The D.C. Mayor implemented a 6 p.m. curfew.