There may be a split brewing in the local Republican party, which has endured one controversy after another over the past year.
âA lot of Republicans are very disappointed â Iâm very disappointed,â Sue Gafford Piner, Comal County party chair, said Friday of what many believe is becoming a deepening rift between far-right and middle-of-the-road party conservatives.
Firestorms this summer involving national events with Black Lives Matter, the social media actions of Piner and a few other Texas GOP county chairs and controversial Trump Train incidents led into a November presidential election that many county Republicans call a fraud.Â
Some of those, including District 73 state Rep. Kyle Biedermann, engaged in a Jan. 6 protest in Washington D.C. that led to the storming of the US Capitol building. Investigators are still sorting out the details behind the attack that left five dead, sparked an impeachment of Donald Trump and have turned the city into a fortress
A caravan protest of around 50 vehicles took place at the New Hanover County Government Center just after noon Wednesday.
Some drivers had affixed American flags to the cars, and most had signs urging U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., to resign. They drove around the parking lot for several minutes honking their horns at the location where Rouzer used to have a Wilmington office.
A press release from N.C. Team Democracy, which organized the protest, condemned Rouzer for his role in attacks on the electoral process, and the resulting insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Nine weeks before invaders violently took siege on the U.S. Capitol, President Donald Trump s zealous supporters swarmed a Joe Biden presidential campaign bus driving through Central Texas, waving Make America Great Again flags, shouting profanities and ultimately frightening those on board enough that Democrats canceled multiple campaign events that evening.
Former Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, who was on the bus, said that law enforcement authorities didn t take that incident seriously enough and now sees it as an example of how Trump supporters have become dangerously emboldened to act lawlessly, fueled by some Republicans who either tacitly or explicitly encouraged the sort of violence that culminated with last week s attack.
Some Comal County residents who were at the nationâs Capitol last week in support of Donald Trump said they didnât expect the violence that unfolded and spoke out against those who smashed windows and beat police officers.
The supporters marched to the Capitol as members of the House and Senate were certifying the outcome of the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden who will be sworn in on Jan. 20.
Trump Train NB Founder Steve Ceh said he and a small group of Trump Train members were among those outside the Capitol.Â
âThere were people from all over Texas, we saw lots of Texas flags,â Ceh said.Â