Ricketts: 25th Amendment a ‘distraction’; Trump not to blame for U.S. Capitol riot

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said he doesn’t think pursuing the 25th Amendment to impeach President Trump following Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol would serve the country well.

“I think it would be a distraction,” he said.

Ricketts also said it would be divisive to pursue something like that.

“President Trump is committed to a transition,” he said. “We should get on with the transition and make it as smooth as possible for the incoming Biden administration. ... I don’t believe it serves anybody to have the president resign or to be removed from office.”

Calling the attacks at the U.S. Capitol “completely unacceptable,” Ricketts said that “peaceful protests are the American way.”

The governor made his remarks during the Q&A session of his news conference to update the state’s COVID-19 response.

“Every protester has the responsibility for remaining peaceful,” he said.

Similar protests in Lincoln were peaceful, he said. “That’s the way it needs to be whenever we have protests.”

The governor did not hold Trump accountable for Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying protesters who turned violent did so on their own.

The president asked for people to protest, Ricketts said, but the protesters are the ones who decided to break into the Capitol building.

“We need people to protest peacefully, and every one of those people has the responsibility to protest peacefully, and to not give in to violence or property destruction and encourage others not to do that.”

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