AP Photo U.S. Capitol Police with guns drawn watch as protesters try to break into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol today in Washington.

ALPENA — While sheltering in place, Northeast Michigan’s federal lawmakers today condemned the rioters who delayed the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Nov. 3 victory by storming the U.S. Capitol.

Other political leaders representing Northeast Michigan also condemned today’s violence.

Both chambers of Congress were recessed and lawmakers forced into seclusion this afternoon after protesters breached police lines and spilled into the Capitol building in Washington. One woman was killed in the melee. All lawmakers were safe. The Capitol was cleared and lawmakers returned to work by 8 p.m.

Lawmakers issued statements from lockdown.

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, who represents the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula, said he has always supported the right to peacefully express opinions and concerns, but people should be held accountable when it turns violent.

“I’ve said it dozens of times in the past few years — I support every American’s right to peacefully protest, but violence and attacks on our police have no place on our streets, or in our Capitol,” Bergman said in a statement. “What we are seeing is disgraceful. The Capitol Police saved my life on the baseball field just over three years ago, and they protect our nation every day. Attacks on any of them, innocent civilians, or any elected official should be met with the full force of the law.”

Bergman was among the survivors of a 2017 shooting by a lone gunman at a congressional baseball team practice.

The two senators from Michigan, Democrats Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, both tweeted while taking cover.

“Today’s attacks on the Capitol are dangerous, unacceptable and an attack on our democracy and must stop,” Peters tweeted.

Northeast Michigan’s representatives in Lansing — where a small, peaceful demonstration had broken up by late afternoon — also slammed the rioters in Washington.

State Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, said what transpired in Washington stands against everything the U.S. stands for. He said troublemakers should be charged with crimes. Stamas said the process of moving power to the incoming Biden administration needs to move forward.

“A peaceful transfer of power is one of the cornerstones of our republic, and what we are watching today in our nation’s capital threatens that principle,” Stamas said. “Every person participating in criminal behavior should be arrested and charged, and the peaceful transfer of power should resume.”

State Rep. Sue Allor, R-Wolverine, who also represents Northeast Michigan, said any protest — no matter what it concerns — needs to be done peacefully, and it is clear our country is severely divided.

“Vandalism and violence, whether by the protesters who caused mass destruction across our nation earlier this year, or those who stormed our Capitol today, makes one thing very clear: Our country is in dire strife,” Allor said. ” Like many Northeast Michiganders, I’m watching the news and am praying for calm.”

Meanwhile, representatives from local political parties kept an eye on the news as it developed.

Barb Durflinger, treasurer of the Presque Isle County Republican Party, said she believes what happened in Washington is appalling. She said the news had been on all day in her home, but she started paying attention to it after the Capitol had been breached.

“I am a very proud Republican, but this behavior is appalling,” she said. “I’m a firm believer in peaceful transfer of power, and that’s not what is happening right now.”

Alpena County Democratic Party Chairwoman Marie Fielder said it’s a very disappointing day in America when protests turn into the kind of violence seen on Friday. Fielder said she is appreciative of the ability to peacefully protest, but what happened in Washington is upsetting.

“I firmly put this in the hands of the Republican GOP leaders who are enabling Donald Trump and his baseless claim of voter fraud,” she added. “This has been the most secure election in history — and it’s not just Democrats who have said that, many Republicans have said the same thing — and they are refusing to acknowledge the will of the people.

“This is not democracy, what is going on in Washington — this is violence and it is shameful,” she added. “This is no way to teach our future generation what democracy is.”

“In my own country, I could not say I’ve seen anything like it,” Tim Kuehnlein, political science and history instructor at Alpena Community College, said of citizens storming the Capitol. “The only example that I’m aware of where our Capitol was actually stormed, it was not by fellow citizens. It was by adversaries, foreign adversaries — the British, in the War of 1812 … but that was obviously a different time and a different set of circumstances.”

He was surprised to see such a scene playing out in the U.S.

“This is shocking,” he said.

“This is not the first time in our history when we’ve had contentious elections — 1876 is just an example — but we all have to be careful of our own behavior, because these things are slippery slopes,” he added. “And, sometimes, one event … has a ripple effect. I like to think that it’s extremely tense right now, people are expressing themselves, it’s disappointing for many — meaning the election and everything around it — but … in time, I think, as things continue to unfold, as long as people remain responsible for their own actions, we can step back and I like to think that this will resolve itself with earnest discourse and a recognition of the frustrations that people are feeling across the board.”