Raptors' Kyle Lowry Calls Donald Trump 'A Criminal' After Capitol Breach

Toronto Raptors All-Star Kyle Lowry called U.S. President Donald Trump a "criminal" after a mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, an insurgence that led to four deaths.

"That man is a criminal," Lowry told reporters after the Raptors game against the Phoenix Suns. "Like, he should be charged...He basically told them to go do this, and people died."

Before the chaos, Trump urged his supporters in a speech to "walk down to the Capitol" to stand against the "egregious assault on our democracy" despite there being no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.

Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., warned members of Congress who didn't support the coup attempt "we're coming for you" and Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, called for a "trial by combat."

The president's supporters followed by marching to the Capitol and storming into the building where the final roll call of the Electoral College votes was being read. After order was restored hours later, Congress finished the job of finalizing Biden's 306-232 win.

Former federal prosecutor David Sklansky told Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle, "By any reasonable standard, inciting your followers to ignore and resist lawful results of an election is a high crime or misdemeanor, a serious abuse of power."

"Honestly, the basketball doesn't matter," Lowry said. "Today, what happened at Capitol Hill, is disturbing...If they were people of color, I think it would have been a whole different situation."

Lowry has been an ardent supporter of the Black Lives Matter protests. In July, he discussed the NBA players' effort to help chart a new path toward social justice and racial equality after teams joined together to kneel during the national anthem as a form of peaceful protest:

"It was beautiful. I think it was amazing. It set the tone for what we're down here for. Those four teams, including the coaches and their organizations, I think it was beautiful that they did it in unison.

"For us to be able to do that, and for our league to support us, the players and all of us being one. Yes we're all competitors and yes we want to beat each other, but at the end of the day we're trying to get social justice and things changed and keep the conversation going and doing more to make sure that the next generation doesn't have to go through what we've gone through."

Lowry and the Raptors return to action Friday night when their four-game road trip continues with a visit to the Golden 1 Center to face the Sacramento Kings.