ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. — Representative Mike Waltz of St. Augustine Beach was one of the dozens of representatives planning to challenge Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.
However, after the violence at the US Capitol Wednesday, he has changed his mind.
On Wednesday, Waltz described to First Coast News what he saw inside the Capitol from a secure and secret location. Less than two hours prior, he had been evacuated from the House floor when a mob stormed the Capitol building.
Waltz said "I’m furious. I’m disgusted." Thursday he gave our reporters more insight saying "Some members were taking legs of furniture off to have some type of weapon to defend themselves."
Waltz, a Republican, lives in St. Augustine Beach and represents a district that stretches to Ocala and Sanford. He had been planning to join dozens of fellow Republicans to challenge Joe Biden’s electoral college win.
First Coast News asked, "What was it that changed our mind?" He responded, "Well, it was someone dying in the Capitol of the United States of America. There is no place for violence. At the end of the day, it was very clear we did not have the votes to truly reject some of these ballots, that we need to move forward with a presidential election, and move forward with a peaceful transfer."
However, Waltz still has issues with the election in some states.
"We are going to continue to push to get that resolved," he said.
Waltz does not support the effort to remove President Trump from office for the next couple of weeks, saying it would be "further disruptive for the country."
But he said the president should strenuously denounce Wednesday’s violence.
When asked about the amount of damage President Trump did to the Republican Party Wednesday, Waltz said, "I don’t know if that’s clear yet. There were a lot of people very upset or angry. I’m angry these thugs stormed the Capitol. I don’t’ think that’s something the President wanted in any way."
"We didn’t know who they were, what they wanted or what they were going to do," Waltz added. "It really leaves an impact."
This was an impact that spurred Waltz to change his vote.