Michelle Obama Called For "Serious Consequences" In Response to Capitol Hill Riot

Michelle Obama has issued a statement regarding the violent siege of the Capitol on Wednesday.

The former First Lady tweeted on Thursday, "Like all of you, I've been feeling so many emotions since yesterday," writing in her statement that she had begun the day "elated" by the news of Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff's wins in Georgia.

"In just a few hours, though, my heart had fallen harder and faster than I can remember," she wrote. "Like all of you, I watched as a gang — organized, violent, and mad they'd lost an election — laid siege to the United States Capitol."

"And once authorities finally gained control of the situation, these rioters and gang members were led out of the building not in handcuffs, but free to carry on with their days," she wrote, referring to the Black Lives Matter protests that took place in the summer.

"The day was a fulfillment of the wishes of an infantile and unpatriotic president who can't handle the truth of his own failures. And the wreckage lays at the feet of a party and media apparatus that gleefully cheered him on, knowing full well the possibility of consequences like these."

Obama went on to point out the "gulf" between Wednesday's riots and the summer's peaceful protests, writing, "I cannot think about moving on or turning the page until we reckon with the reality of what we saw yesterday. True progress will be possible only once we acknowledge that this disconnect exists and take steps to repair it. And that also means coming to grips with the reality that millions voted for a man so obviously willing to burn our democracy down for his own ego."

She then called upon Silicon Valley tech companies to "stop enabling this monstrous behavior" and ban Donald Trump from their platforms.

"And if we have any hope of improving this nation, now is the time for swift and serious consequences for the failure of leadership that led to yesterday's shame."

On Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook and Instagram would block Trump from posting on the platforms "indefinitely."

The former First Lady concluded her statement by reflecting on the "glimmers of hope" she found in the Democrats' wins in Georgia, and said she hoped "every American, especially those who disagree with them, "will give our new Congress, President-Elect Biden, and Vice President-Elect Harris the chance to lead us in a better direction."