Local elector reacts to chaos at Capitol, Congress certifying election
Agustin Arreola, the Coachella Valley's electoral college member, remains full of hope despite the riots at the Capitol on Wednesday.
Arreola spoke with Telemundo 15's Marco Revuelta, telling him he was in disbelief and in shock watching the chaos unfold at the Capitol building.

The 23-year-old from Coachella is one of California's 55 electors. Less than a month ago, he traveled to Sacramento to cast his official vote for President-elect Joe Biden.
"With this new administration, we're hopeful," Arreola said.
His ballot along with the rest of the electoral college votes sat inside brown cases on the Senate floor Wednesday morning. But as the official tally began, a group of rioters stormed in, stopping the county.
Arreola was stunned by the images.
"To have people just outright and bluntly disrupt something that needs to happen and just disregard the rule of the law. It definitely left me speechless," Arreola said.
As lawmakers ran for safety, Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon tweeted that the electoral ballots were saved by staff members during the chaos.
Electoral college ballots rescued from the Senate floor. If our capable floor staff hadn’t grabbed them, they would have been burned by the mob. pic.twitter.com/2JCauUIlvg
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) January 6, 2021
Arreola's vote along with everyone else's, safe and secure.
"I hadn't even thought about that until a friend texted me, 'Hey, your votes are in those boxes.' That's when I realized they were trying to stop, they were trying to stop the vote," Arreola said.
Arreola was also thinking about the well-being of his mentor, Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz.
Ruiz was the one who picked Arreola to be the elector for the 36th district.
"I texted him and I told him I was glad that he was safe and I thanked him because he said he was ready to go back and make sure that the job was done," Arreola said.
Hours later, Congress would get the job get done, certifying President-elect Joe Biden's victory. This brought peace of mind to Arreola.
"You know, Congress stuck to their words. They mentioned that after everything was settled that the Capitol building was safe, they carried out their duty," Arreola said.
With President-elect Biden's certification, Arreola now believes a new era of hope for him and others is just a few weeks away.
"If you are unhappy with the events that are transpiring, there's a lot of ways that you can go ahead and make your voice heard. Being violent and storming the Capitol, putting other people's lives at risk is not the way to go about it," Arreola said.