Concerns flared about officials with ties to Butler County who could have been in the crosshairs of the violent protests Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol.

Staff from U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.; and U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, and Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-15th, report the men are safe.

On Wednesday, thousands of pro-Trump protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol and vandalized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and both congressional chambers as lawmakers met to review President-elect Joe Biden's win in the Electoral College.

Andrew Eisenberger, spokesman for Kelly, said the congressman had been safely evacuated. Kelly was scheduled to speak on the House floor during a debate over an objection to Pennsylvania's electoral vote allocation.

“We know there is a lot of anger over this election and what's happening in America, but this is not who we are,” Kelly said. “We resolve our disputes peacefully under the rule of law. This must stop now.

“My staff and I are safe, and thank the Capitol Police for their bravery.”

“This is an absolute disgrace,” Toomey said. “I appreciate the work of the United States Capitol Police under difficult circumstances.”

Toomey said he is safe, as are the members of his staff currently at the Capitol complex.

Casey said his entire staff continues to work remotely.

However, a spokesperson said Casey was the only member of the team in the Capitol complex and is safe and taking direction from the U.S. Capitol Police.

“I unequivocally support the right to peacefully assemble, but what occurred today at the U.S. Capitol was senseless, violent and destructive, and counter to American values,” Thompson said. “My staff and I are safe, thanks to the efforts of the Capitol Police, who have been working tirelessly to reinstate the peace. This was a sad day for our nation and totally unacceptable.”

Rep. Conor Lamb, D-17th, could not be reached for comment.

In a tweet, Gov. Tom Wolf posted that what we are seeing today “is not democracy — it's an attempted coup.“We had a free and fair election,” Wolf tweeted. “The results were clear.”In a statement, Wolf said Republicans from President Donald Trump to state legislative leaders “need to stop the disinformation and tell their supporters the truth before there's further violence.”Wolf noted that in Pennsylvania and across the country, on Nov. 3, “we had a remarkably well-run election despite historic challenges.“President Trump lost. The election was fair. President Trump received fewer votes. That's it.“We have had a peaceful transfer of power every election cycle in our nation's history, but because of the actions of Republicans, we can no longer say that. I am disgusted, but I will keep fighting to make our democracy stronger.”

Two buses of Butler County residents traveled to the Capitol Wednesday to support the president.“We just went down to defend our country and take back our rights that are being taken away every day,” said Zach Shearer, 18, of Chicora, who helped organize the trip.He said both buses left the group's meeting place at the Clearview Mall in Center Township early in the morning and arrived in Washington at 9:30 a.m. They went to the White House and heard Trump speak until about 1:30 p.m. before “marching” to the Capitol and were there for about an hour before chaos erupted.“Antifa took over and stormed the Capitol. They breached the door, pushing people out of the way,” Shearer said. “We stood our ground.”He said he and eight people from the group from Butler were right on Capitol steps when the crowd rushed the doors.“I could have gone through the doors. We were on the top steps, very close to seeing what was going on,” Shearer said.He said police threw multiple rounds of tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowd. “I had difficulty breathing, coughing real bad,” Shearer said.The group left around 4:30 p.m. to return to their bus, which was scheduled to leave at 5 p.m. The riot was still going on as they left.“It was an amazing event. It was awesome to show support for our president until Antifa tried to take over the Capitol,” he said<i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</i>