The leaders of Hawaii’s Republican Party and Democratic Party issued a joint statement Wednesday calling for protesters at U.S. Capitol to “stand down.”
“Violence, vandalism, intimidation, and mob rule have no place in our republic. We strongly denounce today’s storming of the U.S. Capitol, and call upon the protestors [sic] to stand down. We pray for a safe resolution and hope that aloha will prevail,” Shirlene Ostrov, chairperson of the Hawaii Republican Party, and Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, chairperson of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, said in a joint statement.
The two party leaders said the Constitution guarantees the right to peaceful protest, and also spells out how the electoral process is to be carried out. With respect to both of these, the Constitution must be upheld and respected, they said.
“As the people and citizens of Hawaiʻi, we are friends, neighbors, and family. Regardless of politics or party, there is more that unites us than divides us. We are one country, united under a common law. While we may have passionate debates and disagreements, violent lawlessness has no role in our political process,” the joint statement read. “Many of us on both sides of the aisle may be feeling fear or anger today — it is so much more important than ever to remember what joins us together and show our aloha for one another.”