Officials have declared the US Capitol complex “safe.”
At least one person was shot and killed, although it is not clear who pulled the trigger during the chaotic scene.
Violent protesters loyal to Trump stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to go into hiding, in a stunning attempt to reverse the US presidential election, undermine the country’s democracy and prevent Democrat Joe Biden from leaving Trump in the White House. would replace.
The National Guard, state and federal police were called in for scrutiny, and the Washington mayor imposed a rare curfew. One person would have been shot.
Trump, the defeated president, had cheered on protesters when Congress gathered for a joint session to confirm Joe Biden’s victory.
Trump supporters gathered among the uprisings set up for Biden’s inauguration at the Capitol.
As he rallied his supporters outside the White House on Wednesday morning, he urged them to march to the Capitol. But later – hours after they fought the police and broke into the building – he told them in a video that although they were “very special people” and he supported their cause, they should “go home in peace.”
Other than a few tweets and that one-minute video, Trump was largely decoupled from occupying a national government headquarters.
MORE: Trump, In Video, Tells ‘Very Special’ Protesters To Go Home But Stops False Election Attacks; Twitter flags it for ‘risk of violence’
It was Vice President Mike Pence, not Trump, who spoke to senior defense leaders about calling up the National Guard.
President-elect Biden, two weeks from his inauguration, had declared in Wilmington, Delaware, “I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the constitution and demand an end to this siege. . “
Biden said democracy was “under unprecedented attack,” a sentiment echoed by many in Congress, including some Republicans.
WATCH: Joe Biden calls out to Capitol crowd to “ back out, ” urging for decency to be restored
The chaotic protests halted Congressional constitutionally mandated counting of electoral college results, in which Biden defeated Trump, 306-232. Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had tried to keep Congress away from Wednesday’s formal protest against those results, saying at the outset of the proceedings that Trump had clearly lost.
WATCH: Mitch McConnell breaks with Trump in blistering speech
In the Chamber of the House, lawmakers described a poignant scene.
While they lay down, they were told to have gas masks handy – and to take off the lapel pins they wore to identify them as elected representatives.
The police had drawn weapons and furniture barricaded the door.
Glass was shattered. Some prayed while protesters hit the doors. Democratic Representative Dean Phillips shouted loudly at the Republicans, “This is because of you!”
A chaplain prayed while police guarded the room’s doors and lawmakers tried to gather information about what happened.
Announcements blared: Due to an “outside security threat”, no one could enter or leave the Capitol complex, the recording said. Lawmakers tweeted that they were hiding in their place.
Reporters and lawmakers hid under tables while protesters banged on the door and demanded to be let in. Rumors about guns spread, but it was not clear if the gun was fired. Tear gas is said to have been distributed in the Rotunda.
After clearing the corridors, police quickly escorted people through a series of corridors and tunnels to a cafeteria in one of the House’s office buildings.
As he walked out of the Capitol, Connecticut Representative Jim Himes said he “always assumed it could never happen here.”
But others weren’t so sure.
Rep. Pennsylvania Mike Kelly, one of those who challenged Biden’s victory, blamed “both sides” for the chaos in the Capitol.
“What do you think happened in this country?” he told reporters. “There have been a lot of people over the last four years who have become increasingly outraged at what is happening on both sides in the country. It’s just a shame. This is not how we do things in America.”
The Senate side was not much different.
Vice President Mike Pence, who chaired the session, was evacuated from the Senate when protesters and police shouted outside the doors.
Police evacuated the room at 2:30 PM and led senators to the first of what would be several secret locations.
The clerks packed boxes of election certificates upon departure.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who attended the session, was among those brought to safety.
As soon as they left, protesters walked through the halls shouting, “Where are they?” One of them took to the Senate podium and shouted, “Trump has won those elections.”
More than a dozen people were arrested.
SEE ALSO: US Lawmakers Respond To Protest In DC That Shut Down The Capitol
As it started to get dark, law enforcement officers made their way to the protesters, using percussion grenades to clear the area around the Capitol. Large clouds of tear gas were visible. Police in full riot gear walked down the stairs, colliding with protesters.
It created a frightening scene for lawmakers who were ordered to take extraordinary action for their own safety. The protesters abruptly interrupted congressional proceedings in a scary scene with official warnings ordering people to duck under their seats to take cover and put on gas masks after tear gas was used in the Capitol Rotunda. Some House lawmakers tweeted that they were hiding in their office.
Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., Told reporters he was in the room of the House when protesters started storming it. Security officers’ let us all go down, you could tell they were repelling some sort of attack, it seemed. They had a piece of furniture against the door, the door, the entrance to the floor from the Rotunda, and they had guns drawn, ”Peters said.
“And they just said we should take off our pins,” he added, referring to lapel pins members wear so Capitol Police can quickly identify them. Then the lawmakers were evacuated.
A clerk helped pick up the electoral college’s boxes of votes while the evacuation was taking place. Otherwise, said Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., The ballots would likely have been destroyed by the protesters.
RELATED: Electoral College Ballots Are Rescued As Protesters Storm Capitol, Senator Says
Trump supporters posting on internet forums popular with far-right fringe elements celebrated the chaos. Messages posted to someone turned from profane frustration at the content of Trump’s speech to glee when supporters stormed the building. At least one leading figure was live-streaming video from the Capitol during the siege.
The Pentagon said about 1,100 members of the District of Columbia National Guard were mobilized to support law enforcement in the Capitol.
Pence was watched closely as he stepped onto the podium to conduct the joint session in the Chamber of the House.
Pence had a largely ceremonial role: he opened the United States’ sealed envelopes after shipping them in mahogany boxes used for the occasion and read the results aloud. But he was under increasing pressure from Trump to overturn voters’ will and give the results in favor of the president, despite having no legal power to influence the outcome.
“Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
MORE: Rioter Enters Nancy Pelosi’s Office, Takes Pictures With Feet On Her Desk
But Pence defied Trump in a statement shortly before he became president, saying he could not lay claim to “unilateral authority” to reject the electoral votes that make Biden president.
Despite Trump’s repeated claims of voter fraud, election officials and his own former attorney general have said there were no problems on a scale that would change the outcome. All states have declared their results fair and accurate by both Republican and Democratic officials.
Arizona was the first of several states to face Republican objections when Congress read the election results alphabetically. Then chaos broke out.
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