MIAMI – When the invitation arrived for President Donald Trump’s Stop the Steal rally on Wednesday, two men from South Florida organized a caravan of five buses full of supporters to travel to Washington.
Willy Guardiola was excited. He was going to show his loyalty to Trump with patriotism. He said he did not expect any of the violence that happened at the U.S. Capitol.
“If we would have left immediately after Trump’s last words and jumped on the bus and gone back, I would have asked 40 people, and they would have said it was the best rally ever,” Guardiola said.
Guardiola said he felt safe among Trump loyalists, so he followed a crowd from the rally to an area in front of the U.S. Capitol. He said his intention was to participate in a peaceful protest against the counting of electoral votes to certify Joe Biden’s victory.
“I mean there were a million people there,” said Guardiola, who serves as an activist with Pro-lifers for Trump, which stands against the use of taxpayer funds for abortion.
Trump, he said, helped the group out greatly during his four years in the White House. Guardiola said he did not know there was a mob of rioters inside the Capitol, so he couldn’t believe his eyes when he started to see the National Guard with shields and people running.
Guardiola said the experience was deeply disappointing.
“Everything was highjacked,” Guardiola said. “These people, especially what I saw on the footage, breaking the windows and storming this place, that to me, I don’t care who you are, that has no business here in our country.”
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