Rep. Steube describes experience inside the Capitol during violent protest

Florida U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (R) was inside the Capitol building when protesters stormed inside Wednesday.

Steube told WINK News he had to barricade a door with a table. He says he tried to remain calm as he heard banging on the door and window while trying to stay safe.

Wednesday night, Steube and his staff were safe and ready to get back to work after what was unexpected violence at the U.S. Capitol.

“I spent some time on the house floor listening to the debate, and very early on, you could… you could, you could hear the protesters outside,” Steube said.

Steube says he left the floor to talk to another representative. During the short time he was gone, the floor went on lockdown, and he was locked out. He says he ended up in a conference area.

“I was shepherded into there, which interesting enough was three other members in there, a couple of staffers, and a couple of other officers who had gotten kind of trapped in this conference room,” Steube said. “The protesters were able to get into the House hallway area.”

At one point, Steube said he thought the door was coming down. He and others barricaded the door with the large conference table.

“I mean, there were, there were times where the officers that were with us, because they were banging on the door, felt like it was getting to the point where they were going to have to draw their firearms,” Steube explained. “And it was just like, ‘Let’s just all relax, it’s going to be fine, Just, we’re in an area that we can sit and wait this out.’”

Steube condemns the violence that ensued at the Capitol.

“I’m disgusted by all of this,” he said.

We asked Steube about the president’s tweets taken down Wednesday that said, “These are the things that happen,” when an election is stripped away.

Steube said he didn’t see them, but added “Well, I watched what he said before, you know, when there was the group there down by the white house. He didn’t say go down to the Capitol and break the doors down. He said, go and let, you know, the people, the representatives and the senators hear your position on where you are. There’s nothing wrong with what he said. I again, I don’t stand for any type of violence, period, end of story.”

Rep. Steube told us the violence outside and inside the Capitol does not change his opinion on contesting the Electoral College vote, but it makes it hard to articulate that now.

When we asked him if he would call the violence a coup, which is defined as a sudden and violent seizure of power, Steube hung up on us.