OTTAWA -- As many watched in disbelief Wednesday, as a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building, Americans living in Canada’s capital are concerned about an attack like this on democracy.
"Shock and disbelief," is how Gabriella Carrier described it.
“Just the unbelievability that the United States of America would be on the news like this."
Carrier moved to Ottawa six years ago from Maryland, to study at the University of Ottawa.
Many of her family and friends are still in her hometown of Westminster, Maryland, just an hour from Washington.
"I was actually the one who informed my parents about it," said Carrier, about Wednesday's events.
"I was you know scrolling through Twitter, and I was like have you guys seen what’s going on. I think it was a moment of sadness for a lot of my family members."
While some were shocked by Wednesday’s riot and storming of the Capitol Building, others were not.
"It’s not surprising," said Amber Labelle. "White supremacist, white nationalist violence in the United States is not surprising."
Labelle who was born and raised in the U.S. moved to Ottawa with her husband and two kids in 2018.
"I’m deeply concerned about the state of my home country," she said. "I’m really worried about my friends and my family."
Concerned too are many about law enforcement’s reactions and actions, or lack thereof, during Wednesday’s violent events.
"I truly believe what happened at the U.S. Capitol was a terrorist attack," said Vanessa Dorimain, co-chair of the Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition.
"These are not protesters, these are terrorists, these are people who invaded a space and essentially took it up in a very violent way with bad intentions, but were met with no force, because they were white," she said.
The mob was made up of Trump supporters.
President Donald Trump, who has never conceded defeat, received more than 70 million votes, about seven million fewer than U.S. President-elect Joe Biden in the election.
The Chargé D’Affaires for the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa Katherine Brucker issued a statement about Wednesday’s events.
