Angry supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the federal Capitol Wednesday during a chaotic protest launched to thwart a peaceful transition of power, prompting lawmakers to be evacuated from the building and disrupting the process to confirm Democrat Joe’s victory. Biden.
On his part, Trump issued a tepid call for peace long after the fighting began, but did not ask his supporters to disperse. Hours earlier he had urged them to march to the Capitol.
The Pentagon said about 1,100 members of the District of Columbia National Guard would be mobilized to help maintain order on Capitol Hill.
Warned war
The ordinarily mundane process of certifying a new president was going to be extraordinary anyway, after Trump’s Republican supporters vowed to protest the results of an election they said, without proof, was marked by fraud. But even the day’s unusual deliberations, such as the Republican Vice President and Senate Majority Leader’s defiance of Trump’s demands, were quickly cut short.
In a runaway scene, protesters eluded police and entered the building, shouting and waving US and pro-Trump flags as they walked through the compound. One person was reported to have been shot on Capitol Hill, according to a person familiar with the situation. At the moment the person’s state of health was unknown.
Protesters abruptly halted proceedings at a scene that included warnings from authorities ordering people to shelter under their seats and don gas masks after tear gas was used in the Capitol Rotunda.
After the crowds showed no signs of abating, Trump tweeted, “Please support our Capitol Police and authorities. They really are on the side of our country.
APKeep peaceful. ” The senators were being evacuated. Some representatives tweeted that they took refuge in their offices.
The protesters clashed with Capitol police and managed to enter the building, shortly after a huge rally was held near the White House during which Trump told them to march on the Capitol.
The legislators had gathered for an extraordinary joint session in which they were to confirm the results of the Electoral College.
Last night, Trump justified in a tweet the assault on the Capitol by his supporters, claiming that he was responding to an alleged fraud that stole his victory in the elections.
Twitter took an unprecedented measure to date and eliminated that comment from the president, which normally only marks as a disputed opinion or does not attend to the facts, while blocking the president’s account for 12 hours amid the violence that was has unleashed in the capital and threatened permanent suspension.
Although some Republicans backed the challenge to Biden’s victory, which won 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232 and was confirmed by the Electoral College, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried to defuse tensions and objected to it.
A death
Meanwhile, a woman who was shot inside the Capitol during the violent protest died, reported two officials who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to make public statements.
The Metropolitan Police Department said it would lead the investigation into the incident, without providing details.
The United States Senate resumed its certification session for the presidential victory of Democrat Joe Biden last night, after a hiatus of several hours. At the opening of the session, Vice President Mike Pence lamented a “dark day” and condemned the “violence” recorded.
QUOTES
Donald trump
“The only thing that the vice president (Mike Pence) has to do is return that (the documents that ratify Biden’s victory) to the states for recertification and so I remain president and you will be the happiest in the world.”
George W. Bush
“This is how electoral results are disputed in a banana republic, not in our democratic republic.”
Mike pence
“It is my judgment considering that my oath to protect and defend the Constitution prevents me from assuming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should count and which should not.”
Joe biden
“Our democracy is under unprecedented assault, this is something unlike anything we have seen in modern times. An assault on the Alcazar de la Libertad, the Capitol itself ”.
