Garth Brooks Says Capitol Riot ‘Felt Like It Was in Some Other Country’

On Jan. 6, thousands of President Donald Trump‘s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in a riot that led to multiple deaths, numerous arrests and Trump’s second impeachment. After the riot, multiple country stars shared their thoughts about the situation on social media, and in a press conference on Monday, Jan. 18, Garth Brooks was asked for his feelings.

“It was disturbing, it was sad,” he said. “Try to remember though, we are the human race. I’m always going to find sunny sides in there.” The 58-year-old added that “we do make choices very much on the spur of the moment” and that he deals “in music, I deal in raw emotion.” “That’s what music is all about and all that passion guided, misguided as it is, I think you saw the human race in a time that for me as a person seemed to reflect some other country’s headline, if that makes any sense,” he continued. “But it’s here and all I can do is beg and plead for everybody to take that second, that moment, take a breath. Think about it. Think about your family. Think about what the mark you’re going to leave on this planet as a human being and with the children that you raise and then make your decision.”

Brooks explained that he believes “what happened was we saw people in the heat of the moment pop, we’ve seen it on television before.” “It felt like it was in some other country, but it was here,” he concluded. “And now we deal with it. We take responsibility. We claim it. And now, we do our best to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again.”

The press conference was held for Brooks to announce that he will be performing during President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris‘ inauguration on Wednesday as part of the swearing-in ceremony. “This is a great day in our household,” he said. “This is not a political statement, this is a statement of unity.” Brooks previously performed at former President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 and told reporters that “the invitation that I accepted before and accepting now is the President of the United States. That’s it. It’s not Republican or Democrat. It’s a leader for whom I am a civilian of the greatest country on the planet. It is our leader.”

He also expressed his thanks to the Biden administration for the invitation and shared that being asked to perform “is an honor for me to get to serve.” “It’s one of the things that if my family is around, no matter who the new president-elect is, when that call comes in, it’s, ‘Hey, man. Congratulations,’” he said. “‘That’s pretty cool to be asked.’”