Shortly after 1 pm Eastern time, hundreds of pro-Trump protesters pushed through the barriers placed along the perimeter of the Capitol, where they fought with police in full shock suits, some calling police officers “traitors” for doing their job. About 90 minutes later, the police said that the protesters entered the building and that the doors of the House and Senate were being locked. Shortly after, the floor of the Chamber was evacuated by the police.
An armed confrontation took place at the front door of the Chamber at 3 pm, and the police had their guns aimed at someone who was trying to rape her. A Trump supporter was also photographed standing on the Senate stage in the early afternoon. A woman is in critical condition after being shot in the chest on the Capitol grounds, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources were unable to provide further details about the circumstances of the shooting. Several police officers were injured with at least one transported to the hospital, several sources told CNN.
Smoke grenades were used on the Senate side of the Capitol, as police work to clean up the protesters’ building. The windows on the west side of the Senate have been broken and hundreds of officers are gathering on the first floor of the building.
The Senate floor was cleared of protesters from 3:30 pm ET, and an official told CNN that they had managed to squeeze them from the Senate wing of the building to the Rotunda, and are removing them from the East and West Capitol doors.
It is not clear whether any of the individuals were taken into custody.
Vice President Mike Pence was also evacuated from the Capitol, where he was to play his part in counting electoral votes.
The impressive demonstration of insurrection was the first time that the US Capitol was breached since the British attacked and burned the building in August 1814, during the War of 1812, according to Samuel Holliday, director of scholarships and operations at the Historical Society of the US Capitol.
Trump referred the National Guard to Washington along with “other federal protection services,” according to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
The entire DC National Guard was activated by the Department of Defense after a pro-Trump crowd violating the United States Capitol.
“The DC Guard has been mobilized to provide support to the federal police in the District,” said Jonathan Hoffman, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman. “Acting Secretary Miller is in touch with Congressional leadership, and Secretary McCarthy has been working with the DC government. The law enforcement response will be led by the Department of Justice.”
The Department of Defense had previously received a request from the U.S. Capitol Police for additional DC National Guard forces, but a decision has not been made, according to a senior defense officer.
The official said the DC National Guard did not expect to be used to protect federal facilities, and that the Trump administration decided earlier this week that it would be a task of civil law enforcement, the official said.
The shocking scene was met with less police force than many of the Black Lives Matter protests that spread across the country after George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police last year. While federal police attacked peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square outside the White House over the summer, paving the way for Trump to take a picture in front of a nearby church at the time, protesters on Wednesday managed to break into the Capitol police and infiltrate the country’s legislative chambers.
The leadership of the House and Senate is secure and in undisclosed locations, according to a known person. Another lawmaker said members of the House were evacuated to a location that this source did not disclose.
The U.S. Capitol Police is working to secure the second floor of the Capitol first and then expand from there. Outside the Capitol, the DC Metropolitan Police Department remains en masse, but no major moves have yet been made towards the crowd.
The Capitol policeman in the Chamber of Deputies told lawmakers that they may need to duck under their seats and informed lawmakers that the protesters were at the building’s Rotunda. Many members of the Chamber were seen wearing gas masks as they moved between Capitol buildings. The members were calling the family to say they are fine.
Trump finally asked his supporters to “go home” hours after the riot broke out, but he spent a great deal of time in the one-minute video lamenting and lying about his electoral defeat.
In an impressive line, Trump told the crowd to “go home” but added, “We love you. You are very special.”
Trump gave a sympathetic tone to the troublemakers he himself unleashed, saying: “I know your pain, I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was an overwhelming election and everyone knows it. Especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. “
Others inside the president’s orbit tweeted his pleas for calm as the crowd repeatedly tried to take control of the building.
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, said his supporters who attacked the Capitol were “wrong and not who we are”.
“Be peaceful and use your 1st Amendment rights, but don’t start acting like the other side. We have a country to save and it doesn’t help anyone,” he tweeted.
Protesters breached external security barriers and video footage shows demonstrators gathering and some clashing with police near the Capitol building. The CNN team on the ground saw a series of protesters trying to climb the side of the Capitol building. Several loud flashes were heard.
The protesters could be seen pushing the metal fences and the police using the fences to push the protesters back, while other policemen reached the top of the club to try to cross their lines.
Flash bangs could be heard near the Capitol steps as smoke filled the air. In some cases, police officers can be seen spreading pepper spray. Tear gas was implanted, but it is unclear whether by the protesters or the police, and people wiped away tears as they coughed.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has just announced a citywide curfew from 6 pm ET on Wednesday until 6 am ET Thursday.
Federal and local authorities are responding to reports of possible bombs at various locations in Washington DC, according to a federal official. It is not clear whether the devices are real or a scam, but they are being treated as real.
A bomb was found at the headquarters of the National Republican Committee on Wednesday, an RNC official told CNN. The device was found on the floor, along the wall of the headquarters. It was safely detonated by the police, said the RNC official.
At least two suspect bombs have been placed safely by the police, including one in the building that houses the RNC offices and one in the United States Capitol complex, a federal official told CNN. The official said that these were real explosive devices and that they were detonated safely.
The Democratic National Committee was also evacuated after a suspected package was being investigated nearby, a Democratic source familiar with the matter told CNN. The party preemptively closed the building before the protests, the source said, but some security guards and essential personnel were evacuated.
This is a last-minute story and will be updated.