TULSA, Okla. — Senator James Lankford is weighing in on last week's attack on the Capitol and the push to remove President Trump from office.
Sen. Lankford condemns those who attacked the Capitol and those who may be planning an attack before the inauguration.
“The individuals that were in our Capitol should be arrested, should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," he said. "Individuals that are planning in the days ahead to be able to carry out some act of violence, that is not legal to be able to do that. We should proactively arrest individuals.”
While some members of Congress are calling for President Trump to be removed from office just days before he’s set to leave, Sen. Lankford thinks this adds more fuel to a fire in the country.
“I do encourage my colleagues to show some restraint here at this point," he said. "Right now, we should try to bring the country together as much as we can rather than take a wedge and try to drive it even deeper into the country.”
Some are also calling on Sen. Lankford to resign. He said, American’s shouldn’t be a part of ‘cancel culture,' but should be allowed to have diverse opinions.
“We don’t all agree on every issue," Lankford said. "And I’m not going to agree with everybody every single time. But I have a responsibility to be able to listen to four million Oklahomans and the best way I know how to be able to represent all of our voices through the process.”
Those resignation calls come after Sen. Lankford's plan to challenge the electoral college votes. Despite changing his vote following the attack, he still wants to look into any election issues and answer questions for voters.
“We do need to work together as a country to say, 'How are we going to do elections better?'" Lankford said. "How are we going to protect the rights of every individual so no one is suppressed from their vote? But how are also going to pull people that feel like they’re not being heard to a place where they can be heard and get it resolved with words, not with violence.”
Now, Sen. Lankford is urging Americans to get off social media, listen to and respect one another and move forward as a country.
“We do need to make sure that everyone is actually heard in the process and everyone is respected in the process," Lankford said. "But people that we disagree with, we don’t have to diminish. And that’s what we’re seeing right now.”
Sen. Lankford said he does plan to attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week.
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