On Wednesday, thousands of pro-Trump protestors filled the streets of Washington D.C to protest against the election result. The protestors stormed inside the building of the US Congress as the US Senate (one of the houses of the Congress) was in session to certify the election results.
“We have took the capitol,” a Trump supporter told ABC news. “We see chaos everywhere,” ABC News reporter said during live coverage.
“After exhorting his supporters to go to the Capitol to register their discontent on Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump tried later in the day to tamp down on the violence,” New York Times reported.
At the U.S. Capitol, protesters pushed past police who were trying to block them from entering the building as senators inside debated the certification of the presidential election. Some were able to breach security to successfully enter the building. According to reports, some of the protestors were armed, however, it is not yet known if anyone has been able to take arms inside the building.
After this incident, the Capitol Police evacuated two Capitol campus buildings; the Library of Congress James Madison Memorial Building and the Cannon House Office Building, both just across Independence Avenue from the Capitol. Congresswoman Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), whose office is in the Cannon building, tweeted “I just had to evacuate my office because of a pipe bomb reported outside.”
Washington Post reported
New York Times reported:
The outgoing President took to Twitter in an attempt to alleviate the chaos in the Capitol, instructing his supporters to cooperate with the Capitol Police and law enforcement because “they are truly on the side of our country.”
A woman was killed after being fatally shot at the rioting while three people died as a consequence of medical emergencies, revealed Washington’s Police Chief.
Hours after the riots, Congress has finally resumed its election session as lawmakers continue certifying US President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral votes.
Mike Pence, US Vice President, who was taken to a a safe location when the mob struck the Capitol, said that this had been a “dark day in the history of the United States Capitol.”
