Former American residents in Regina react to Capitol Hill riot

Regina residents who used to call the United States home reacted Thursday to the scenes of the riot on Capitol Hill.

On Wednesday, thousands of protesters convened there as the government prepared to officially recognize the Electoral College votes that would confirm Joe Biden as the next president of the United States.

Many of the protesters infiltrated the Capitol building, some of them wearing Donald Trump-related clothing or carrying Trump flags. The protest led to a recess of the process as the building was vandalized.

Karen Morley has lived in Regina for a decade. Born in Philadelphia, Morley has lived across America and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Prior to living in Regina, she called Atlanta home.

“I sobbed. To see what’s happening in my country is devastating,” Morley said, recalling how she felt watching the events unfold. “My response is mixed with anger and disappointment.”

Morley, who voted in the Georgia senate elections, said she believes it could be a while before the country can come together and realize an ideological split shouldn’t lead to making enemies with people you disagree with.

“What I saw was not ideological differences, I saw cultist personality. These people are not concerned about America. They’re not patriots, they’re loyalist to one person. So long as the media keeps giving attention to that one person and that one person keeps grifting off of these poor people, I don’t see that ending,” Morley said.

“This cult of personality has to somehow be dissipated and I’m not sure how that occurs other than its leader finally being silenced and finally giving up that bully platform.

“They got into the Capitol Building and they didn’t have any ideology that they wanted to promote. They just wandered around aimlessly looking to destroy things and that tells me it’s a cult. It’s not about what they believe in.”

Former Regina mayor Michael Fougere lived in Michigan for 13 years before his family moved to Nova Scotia and he has remained in Canada ever since.

“I just think it’s a real tragedy but not unexpected given the events of President Trump’s tenure — what he’s been doing to divide and deny the obvious that he lost the election — that you could see this happening. Never would I have ever thought that Capitol Hill would be stormed like this and see this insurrection happen,” Fougere said. “It’s a bit chilling.

“The U.S. in many ways is a beacon of democracy and freedom but when you see this happen, it just shakes the foundations of what you believe happens in a democracy.”

Fougere said the division has been growing in the States for a while, which led to Trump’s election win in 2016.

“There was certainly the seeds and the groundwork for Trump to win and now the enabling of him to do what he’s done,” Fougere said.

“This didn’t happen when Mr. Trump became president. He sort of personified the anger, concerns and alienation of many, many people in the United States who feel they have no voice. They feel the elites are running the country and they have no say in the matter.

“I don’t think the average American would want to see what happened yesterday. I think they are embarrassed and ashamed about what happened and rightly so.”

Morley believes the divide began to really take shape when Trump announced he would be running for the Republican nomination in 2015. Morley, who is a Democrat supporter, said she has had family and friends sever ties due to the division between the two parties.

Morley hopes with a new administration coming in under Biden, the country could start working to close the divide that appears to be there.

“I’m hoping that they will work with a new administration to help heal those (wounds). If they continue to work against the administration, I see no hope,” Morley said. “Don’t give up on America just yet. We’ll be back.”