Scots living in the US react to Trump supporters storming the Capitol

We received emergency alerts on our phones from the mayor saying there would be a curfew between 6pm and 6am, and not to go outside.

There were a lot of red hats (Trump supporters wearing the MAGA hat) wandering about in the afternoon. My workplace also shut early to accommodate the curfew, but of course many people are working from home anyway. DC is a decent-sized city so away from downtown/Capitol Hill, it was fairly quiet.

I live a fair bit away from downtown so did not directly see any trouble. However, everyone I know is shocked, horrified and embarrassed at what happened in the Capitol.

I think people are relieved that Trump will finally be out this month - people were scared and are condemning what happened as an attempted coup.

I am looking forward to the new administration, in two weeks Trump will be out and things will be better. Not perfect, but better.

Mark Thomson is from Edinburgh and now lives in Philadelphia

The biggest shock last week was how unprepared the security was at the Capitol. I was totally taken aback at how easily the seditionists were able to gain access. We knew something was going to happen as Trump and his followers were boasting about this rally for weeks, warning us to expect a “wild” day. This building should be one of the most impenetrable in the world. Watching on TV, I was in utter disbelief as they seemed to meet little or no resistance.

I hope we are going to make it through the next few days without incident. I worry if they use the 25th Amendment that Mike Pence will try and pardon Trump. I really hope that we are going to see Donald Trump facing federal charges.

Donald Trump is a monster created by the internet on dark message boards and a million conspiracy theories and dank memes. The man himself may be on the way out but I am fearful the legacy he has created is a genie that can’t be put back in its bottle.

It’s highly embarrassing that he is half Scottish. I don’t want to believe that he might try again in 2024, hopefully he might be in jail. If it’s not him then it could be one of his awful children. Trumpism with slick presentation is something quite frightening.

I emigrated here three years ago through work. I was grateful for the opportunity to escape Brexit even though I was fully aware of who the president was. I gambled that he would not last but could never imagine how bad he would get.

Peter McCartney originally from Erskine but who has lived in the US for the last 20 years and works as a nurse in Seattle at the first hospital to have a Covid-19 death in the States. Many people injured from the riots in the summer were also brought to his hospital.

Peter McCartney works as a nurse in Seattle

People were honestly scared when these people breached the walls of the Capitol building. People thought it was a coup. Many wondered why the police were not being more involved.

Seattle had many BLM protests in the summer and there were a lot of claims of police brutality so they felt that if it had been minorities and Antifa attacking the Capitol building they would have been dealt with differently.

Seattle is a very Democrat-leaning city so most people I know are sickened by the behaviour of their fellow Americans at Capitol Hill.

It is similar to Brexit here as the smaller towns and the rural areas are very much pro-Trump and would have supported what happened. The urban centres think he and his supporters are crazy.

People just want things to get back to normal. We are sick of the coronavirus and Trump here in Seattle. I think we are worried that something else happens before Biden is inaugurated.

By the way, people love Nicola Sturgeon here after her comments about Trump not getting into Scotland!

Jamie McGeechan, a musician who is originally from Ayr, now living in St Louis, Missouri

Jamie McGeechan is a musician from Ayr

I knew I was moving to the US in a time that was unparalleled in modern times for its malignant governance, social disquiet and surefire chaos but nothing prepared me for what I saw in Washington DC.

“The vast majority of people I know are shocked and disgusted by what happened and regard it as an affront to decency and democracy. Certainly, I can’t imagine something like that happening in Scotland, it shouldn’t happen anywhere. As Donald Trump’s tenure comes to a very welcome end, I suppose it was too much to hope that it would happen peacefully. These events embarrass the nation but the country will move on and it will uphold the values of decency and democracy long after the dark shadow of Donald Trump has ice.

Nicola McCormack is a freelance writer and editor living in New York

I know a lot of Americans who are really shaken by the audacity of an angry mob storming the Capitol, attacking the very heart of the democracy this country holds so dear. But was it ever going to end any other way? Trump has been stoking conspiracy theories and racism since he made his entrance on that gold escalator in 2015 to announce his run.

His win was a wake-up call for anyone living in a liberal bubble, which essentially describes NYC, where I live. But there’s been a reckoning with this administration, it’s been so utterly divisive for America, and ultimately for the Republican party. Trump’s unpresidential behaviour was repeatedly forgiven by Republicans who saw him as a necessary evil to stay in power.

Last week, unchecked, he went too far, not for his base, but for many in his party. Yet listen to certain right-wing media outlets and they’re still supporting Trump and suggesting Antifa is behind the rioting – Trump’s base just need to tune in to Hannity to hear his rhetoric if he’s banned from social media.

For me, president-elect Joe Biden’s January 20 inauguration can’t come quick enough, but it would be naive to think that he can bridge the huge divide. Still, I’ll feel more secure waking up in an America with Trump out of office.”

Mike Larkin, a stock market writer from East Kilbride who now lives in LA

Mike Larkin now lives in LA

It is shocking as it is an attack on the democratic norms of the world’s most powerful country. His behaviour has been a disgrace and it has cost his political movement much of whatever legitimacy it had. The fact so many members of his administration have resigned in the wake of what happened underlines this for me.

Trump is a symptom of underlying problems in the American political scene that will still be there after he is gone. Neither party really seems to want to address the issues, but prefer to pay lip service to them as it garners them votes. I do not see that changing. Given the massive demographic changes happening in the country, I can see it getting worse before it gets better.

They need to address issues such as comprehensive immigration reform, the impact of the growing wealth division and the impact of globalisation, but there seems little will to actually do this among politicians.

It is easier to have everyone at each other’s throats than to actually work on implementing broad change that benefits all.

Cameron Steer, a Scottish international student-athlete in New York State

The events that occurred during January 6 at Capitol Hill are not an isolated incident. You have bullies who are pushing Trump’s false claims and blatant lies. This manifests in racism, violence, ignorance and other forms of bigotry which have been a common projection of Trump supporters in my three years in this otherwise great country.

These people are terrorists and, like their leader Mr Trump, will not stop pushing false narratives or commuting atrocities like what we saw at Capitol Hill.

I’m not particularly scared for my safety, being that I am a white male with privilege in this country just like all the people who marched yesterday. My heart and prayers instead go out to my Native American friends and friends of colour here in America. It must be terrifying for them having these rioters, insurgents and terrorists be able to commit acts of hate and racism, as well as the police force not apprehending or controlling the situation.

America has now become a place in which hate and prejudice and discrimination can be outwardly and actively committed without the hand of the law sanctioning these people. It’s shocking and saddening how Mr Trump and his street thugs are able to continue to be perpetrators of hate and false information.

Jeremy Bell, originally from Edinburgh. Bell emigrated 30 years ago and is now an American citizen living in Boston.

I believe the individuals were as surprised to get into the Capitol as the police were! They interrupted the Ted Cruz crowd who were about to try to delay the vote for 10 days. After that no-one wanted to back that proposal to re-count. Therefore by sending the crowd over to the Capitol, Trump caused his own final defeat.

It would be great to impeach him before his term is up but that would just be to spite him. I believe Biden really does want to start to heal and to just watch him go slowly would be the best way for the long-run.

John Kelly said something interesting about the fact we have to quiz all candidates as to their backgrounds and why they want to be president. We should not let TV stars get a spotlight this important.

We have been glued to the news for more than four years now. I am so looking forward to politics becoming boring again!

During the pandemic I have been playing bagpipes every Saturday night at Beacon Hill in Boston to keep everyone’s calendars running. People say the only way they know it is Saturday is if they hear the pipes.