WASHINGTON – The US Capitol fell into chaos and violence on Wednesday when hundreds of pro-Trump protesters stormed the building and at least one person was shot to death, forcing the Senate to evacuate and Vice President Mike Pence to be taken to a safe place.
The frantic scene after rioters broke through the barricades forced Congress to evacuate parts of the building and abruptly halted a ceremonial event stating that President-elect Joe Biden won the November election. In a dramatic moment, the police drew weapons while protesters tried to break into the Chamber of Deputies.
Pence, who presided over the joint session of Congress, could be seen running out of the Senate chamber amid the noise of a crowd of Trump supporters surrounding the Capitol. Pence and Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the provisional president of the Senate, were taken to a safe place, a senator told NBC News.
A woman was shot inside the Capitol by a police officer and later died, several police said
The Senate doors were closed and locked, and senators were told to stay away from the area. The doors to the house were blocked and some lawmakers were seen praying. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has ordered a 12-hour curfew in the city that will begin at 6 pm Eastern Time.
Twitter and other social media channels were inundated with images of protesters fighting police, and there were several reports of riots inside the Capitol, when some protesters broke windows, knocked down doors and posted themselves in the Senate chamber.
Improvised explosive devices were found on Capitol Hill, several police said. The police were destroying the devices and it was not clear whether they were working. At least one was made of a small section of galvanized pipe.
Five weapons were recovered from the complex and about 13 arrests were made, DC police said. None of the people resided in the district.
The images of the clashes were filled with disturbing hate symbols: a photo of a noose that had been hung on the west side of the Capitol, while several protesters waved Confederate flags or used gestures of white power.
Trump ordered the National Guard to address the Capitol, he said in a tweet, and the United States Capitol Police requested additional support. The FBI was deployed and the US Marshals Service was also helping to respond.
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif, confirming on Fox News that shots were fired inside the Capitol, called the chaos “non-American” and said: “We can disagree, but we shouldn’t take it to this level. … You don’t do what’s happening now. People are being hurt. This is unacceptable.”
Biden asked Trump to go on national television to “fulfill his oath and defend the constitution and demand an end to this siege”.
“It is not a protest. It is an insurrection,” he said. “A president’s words are important, no matter how good or bad they are.”
Leading Democrats in Congress echoed Biden’s message: “We are calling on President Trump to demand that all protesters leave the US Capitol and Capitol areas immediately,” Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. , and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D- California, said in a joint statement.
Former Attorney General William Barr, who was close to Trump last summer while members of the National Guard fired tear gas to disperse peaceful protesters so the president could hold a Bible for a photo opportunity, condemned Wednesday’s violence .
He said in a statement: “The violence in the Capitol building is outrageous and despicable. Federal agencies should act immediately to disperse it.”
Trump, who the previous Wednesday called on his supporters to march to the Capitol and even suggested he could join them before finally returning to the White House, addressed the chaos and unrest in a series of tweets.
“Please support our Police and Capitol Police. They are truly on our country’s side. Be at peace!” Trump tweeted. He added: “I am asking everyone on the US Capitol to remain at peace. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law and Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”
In a video message signaled by Twitter as spreading false election allegations and “due to the risk of violence”, Trump again lied about the election results, falsely claiming that he won in a “landslide”, before addressing directly to your Capitol supporters: “You have to go home now.”
The chaotic situation came after Trump spoke to a large crowd in front of the White House. He angrily swore never to give in to Biden and stated without foundation that the election results were fraudulent.
“We will never give up. We will never give in. You don’t give in when theft is involved,” Trump said to a crowd of supporters, some of whom shouted “USA!” or wavy anti-Biden banners. He later falsely claimed that Biden was an “illegitimate” president.
Trump’s baseless allegations about electoral fraud have been largely debunked and his legal team’s efforts to challenge the election results in court have been rejected by a succession of judges. Trump said Wednesday’s joint session of Congress represents a chance to overturn the election, although state voters have already certified the results and the event inside the Capitol is ceremonial.
Trump pressured Pence to intervene in the count. In his long, digressive remarks, Trump asked Pence to “do the right thing”, although Pence’s ceremonial role did not empower him to intervene. Pence sent a letter to Congress before the ceremony saying he would not do what Trump expected.
Deputy Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Tweeted that she was writing impeachment articles against Trump.
“We cannot allow him to remain in office, it is a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath,” she tweeted.
Trump was impeached by the House in late 2019 and acquitted by the Senate in early 2020.
Jason Bjorklund, who flew from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to the capital, said he did not know what to expect when Congress met.
“I felt compelled to be here, because it looks like our republic is escaping us,” said Bjorklund. He added, without foundation, that there were “mountains of evidence of fraud” and detailed conspiracy theories about Dominion’s voting machines.
When asked to report to the judges who rejected Trump’s legal team’s attempts to challenge the results, Bjorklund said, “I think we have top-down corruption.”
Prior to Trump’s speech, it appeared that some senators were being approached by Trump supporters near the Capitol, including a apparently exasperated Senator Todd Young, R-Ind., Who said he would not vote against Biden’s victory claim because he was obliged to follow the law.
“I took an oath under God, under God!” Said Young. “Do we still take this seriously in this country?”
Theresa Reilly and her husband, Bill, came from Michigan to the nation’s capital – an important midwestern state that fell in the Democratic column in November – to participate in the protests because they believe Biden’s triumph was fraudulent.
“We don’t believe they are honest and true voters,” said Theresa Reilly as Celine Dion’s theme song from the movie “Titanic” played over a speaker system in the background. “There is a lot of cheating and I think everyone knows that, including Democrats.”
Bill Reilly said that even without “doing a lot of research”, it was clear that “something is happening” with the results of the November elections
“The only thing I can say is that, no matter how many people are here, it will not end,” he said. “If you thought 2020 was weird, 2021 will be ‘hold my beer’, if you ask me.”
Allan Smith, Ginger Gibson, Pete Williams and Haley Talbot reported from Washington, Daniel Arkin and Tom Winter from New York and Lauren Egan from Georgia.