Pro-Trump Rioters Storm the Capitol in Washington D.C.
A violent scene broke out as Congress convened to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
A mob of Trump-supporting insurrectionists breached the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. as members of Congress tallied electoral college votes to certify President-elect Joe Biden‘s victory in the November presidential election. The crowd of right-wing rioters, who convened at the Capitol in support of Trump and his baseless claims of election fraud, overtook police mid-afternoon and rushed into the Senate side of the building while chanting sentiments such as “stop the steal” and “arrest Congress.”
Trump did not immediately condemn the mob, as he hastily did with Black Lives Matter demonstrations this summer, and instead posted a video asking his supporters to go home. In the clip, he continues to insist the election was stolen from him. Despite the 45th president’s former warning that “once the looting starts, the shooting starts,” several photos have surfaced showing rioters freely vandalizing offices and running off with building decorations. The New York Times reports that a woman was shot in the neck, corroborated by footage from the Washington Examiner showing someone being wheeled out of the Capitol in a stretcher.
Responding to the chaos, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser instated a citywide curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. EST. Election certification proceedings have been paused, and it’s currently unclear when Congress will reconvene.
