BATON ROUGE – Rouses co-owner Donald Rouse Sr. issued a public apology during a radio interview on Friday, about two weeks after he was photographed in a pro-Trump protest that ended with protesters inside the US Capitol.
Rouse told WBOK in New Orleans that he exercised “bad judgment” by attending the rally on January 6, which turned violent when protesters broke into the Capitol building and interrupted lawmakers who were in the process of confirming the results of the presidential election. .
He said during the interview that he was not there to protest the election results, but he wanted to experience the event first hand.
“I didn’t go there to support Trump,” said Rouse. “I went there to hear him speak. I went there … for the story to be made, I think I would say.”
Rouse added that he had no ticket and stayed off the barricade to watch Trump’s speech, reiterating that he left before the protest turned violent. He also said he was one of the few people at the event wearing a mask, which made him feel “a little out of place”.
Actor Wendell Pierce, who was among those who called for a boycott of the store after the rally, also asked Rouse during the interview whether he thought the 2020 presidential election was “stolen”.
“No, sir, I don’t believe the election was stolen,” he said. “I believe Trump was wrong … I will support Joe Biden as long as he is president.”
NOLA.com reports that the businessman also admitted that his son warned him against going to Washington, DC, adding that perhaps he should have heard him.
WBOK 1230 AM is one of the oldest black-owned radio stations in the country. Terrebonne Parish NAACP President Jerome Boykin, a friend of Rouse’s, encouraged him to conduct an interview with the station.
Boykin said he disagreed with Rouse’s decision to attend the rally, but that he thinks “it’s clear that Mr. Rouse gave back to all communities, including the African American community. ”