VIDEO: White House press briefing addresses Wednesday’s ‘violent rioters’

This event was previously live-streamed and has since ended.

WASHINGTON (KLKN) — President Donald Trump’s Press Secretary Kayleigh McEneny stepped in front of the cameras for a five-minute press briefing following Wednesday’s events.

The following is a transcription of the briefing:

“I am here to deliver this message on behalf of the entire White House. Let me be clear, the violence we saw yesterday at our nation’s Capitol was appalling, reprehensible, and antithetical to the American way. We condemn it, the president and this administration, in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable. And those that broke the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

I stood here at this podium, the day after a historic church burned amid violent riots, and I said this: ‘The First Amendment guarantees the right of the people to peaceably assemble. What we saw last night in Washington and across the country was not that’. Make no mistake, what we saw yesterday afternoon in the halls of our Capitol- likewise- was not that.

We grieve for the loss of life, and those injured; and we hold them in our prayers in close to our hearts at this time. We thank our valient law enforcement officers who are a true American heroes.

What we saw yesterday was a group of violent rioters undermining the legitimate First Amendment rights of the many 1000’s who came to peacefully have their voices heard in our nation’s capital. Those who violently besieged our capital are the opposite of everything this administration stands for. The core value of our administration is the idea that all citizens have the right to live in safety, peace and freedom. T

hose who are working in this building are working to ensure an orderly transition of power. Now it is time for America to unite, to come together, to reject the violence that we have seen. We are one American people, under God, thank you.”