[WATCH]: Schwarzenegger compares Capitol protests to ‘Kristallnacht’
Movie star-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger has compared the Donald Trump-inspired violence at the US Capitol to the Kristallnacht, the ‘Night of Broken Glass’, in Nazi Germany in 1938.
Schwarzenegger took to Twitter on Sunday to condemn the violent attacks that took place on Wednesday.
Pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop president-elect Joe Biden from being officiated.
Five people died as a result of this, including a Capitol Hill police officer.
My message to my fellow Americans and friends around the world following this week's attack on the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/blOy35LWJ5
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 10, 2021
In the video, Schwarzenegger drew the comparison to when shards of broken glass littered the streets of Nazi Germany after anti-Jew mob broke the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings and synagogues.
"But the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol, they shattered the ideas we took for granted," Schwarzenegger said.
"They did not just break down the doors of the building that housed American democracy. They trampled the very principles on which our country was founded," he said.
He also described the people who committed those acts as the "Nazi equivalent of the Proud Boys".
To drive his message home, Schwarzenegger brought out the sword he used in his famous action movie Conan The Barbarian.
"And here is the thing about swords - the more you temper it, the stronger it becomes.
"Our democracy is like the steel of a sword. It has been tempered by wars, injustices and insurrections.
"I believe as shaken as we are by events in recent days, we will come out stronger because we now understand what can be lost."
Trump has since conceded the vote and condemned the attacks.
He has, however, said that he will not be attending the president-elect's inauguration on 20 January, breaking with a long-standing tradition.
