Third lawmaker tests positive for COVID-19 following U.S. Capitol riot

(Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

By Hanna Park

(CHICAGO) Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) said Tuesday he has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming at least the third House Democrat to become infected after the storming of the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday.

Dozens of lawmakers were rushed to a confined location for hours after pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol after being “incited by the president,” Schneider said. In a statement, he expressed deep frustration at lawmakers who refused to wear a mask and put others at risk.

“Today, I am now in strict isolation worried that I have risked my wife’s health and angry at the selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers who put their own contempt and disregard for decency of the health and safety of their colleagues and our staff,” he added, citing a video that showed Republican members of Congress rejecting a woman’s request to wear masks as she went around the room handing them out.

Schneider, from north suburban Deerfield, said he has not yet experienced symptoms and is in the care of physicians.

“Too many Republicans have refused to take this pandemic and virus seriously, and in doing so, they endanger everyone around them,” Jayapal said in a statement. “Only hours after President Trump incited a deadly assault on our Capitol, our country, and our democracy, many Republicans still refused to take the bare minimum COVID-19 precaution and simply wear a damn mask in a crowded room during a pandemic.”

Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey also announced receiving positive tests on Monday.

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