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Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-New Jersey) both announced on Monday, Jan. 11 that they have become infected.
"I just received a positive COVID-19 test result after being locked down in a secured room at the Capitol where several Republicans not only cruelly refused to wear a mask but recklessly mocked colleagues and staff who offered them one," the 55-year-old Jayapal posted on Twitter.
"Only hours after Trump incited a deadly assault on our Capitol, many Republicans still refused to take the bare minimum COVID-19 precaution and simply wear a damn mask in a crowded room during a pandemic — creating a superspreader event ON TOP of a domestic terrorist attack," Japayal added on Twitter.
"Any Member who refuses to wear a mask should be fully held accountable for endangering our lives because of their selfish idiocy. I'm calling for every single Member who refuses to wear a mask in the Capitol to be fined and removed from the floor by the Sergeant at Arms."
Watson Coleman, age 75, a cancer survivor, said she believes she also became infected while sheltering in place with other members during the riot.
Video obtained by Punchbowl News showed Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware) attempting to hand out masks to several Republican members in the safe room who refused to wear them, several of them smirking.
President-elect Joe Biden spoke out about the video.
"I was appalled when I saw, as a matter of fact, the distinguished congresswoman from Delaware showed the folks in hiding from the mob, going around trying to hand out masks for everybody," Biden said. "Republican colleagues wouldn't take the mask. I think it is irresponsible. So we all have to make sure it is not a political issue. It is an issue of public safety."Congressman Jake LaTurner (R-Kansas) announced that he had received a positive test result late on Wednesday, Jan. 6, hours after hundreds of Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol before Congress confirmed Biden’s victory.
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