US Capitol, Washington DC on lockdown as Trump supporters breach building
Congress’ efforts to certify the results of November’s presidential election devolved into utter chaos Wednesday, with supporters of President Trump overrunning police and storming the US Capitol building, explosive devices found and at least one woman shot.
All hell broke loose around 1:30 p.m., as protesters who had already breached the Capitol grounds pushed past police and into the building where hundreds of lawmakers — including Vice President Mike Pence — were assembled.
Outnumbered police barricaded the door from inside the chamber of the House of Representatives, training their service weapons on the entrance as protesters massed outside.
At least one woman was shot fatally in the chest inside the building, according to reports and gruesome social media images of the shooting.
Law-enforcement sources told The Post it appeared she was shot by Capitol Police. The woman, draped in red, white and blue, was removed from the building on a stretcher, blood streaming from her mouth and later declared dead at the hospital, authorities said.
Several other protesters made it onto the floor of the Senate, with at least two caught in photos atop in the dais, occupying the seat usually held by Pence, the president of the Senate.
“Trump won that election!” one of those protesters could be heard saying, according to a reporter’s tweet.
Another man was photographed inside the personal office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, one foot up on her desk.
At least one suspected improvised explosive device was found on the Capitol grounds, according to NBC News, with The New York Times reporting that another was discovered at the nearby headquarters of the Republican National Committee.
A suspicious package was also reportedly being probed at Democratic National Committee headquarters.
The bedlam began following a raucous rally speech from Trump, in which he again claimed without hard evidence that the 2020 election had been rigged against him, and called on Pence and congressional Republicans to sabotage the certification process.
Protesters broke through a flimsy fence surrounding the Capitol grounds, and scaled the steps to the building, going toe-to-toe with police.
Some carried American flags, others the Confederate Stars and Bars.
After breaching the building, several protesters made it onto the building’s balcony, where at least one Gadsden flag, bearing the legend “Don’t Tread on Me,” was draped.
At one point, the crowd outside could be heard singing The Star-Spangled Banner.
Inside, the certification process was interrupted, with lawmakers told to take shelter.
Pence and other lawmakers were evacuated to safety.
Among those in the Senate chamber was Vice President Mike Pence, whom Trump has fiercely criticized for what he perceives as a lack of effort to stop the election certification process.
CNN reported that the vice president was evacuated from the building, but his whereabouts were not immediately disclosed.
At least one congressional office building was evacuated earlier in the day.
After the protesters had already been in the building for some time, Trump tweeted his support for law enforcement.
“Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement,” he wrote. “They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
Around 4 p.m., federal and local officials began sweeping through the building, ejecting lingering protesters and escorting journalists, staffers and others who had hunkered down inside to safety.
Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a 6 p.m. curfew for the city as the bedlam unfolded.
With police on the Capitol grounds overpowered, reinforcements were called in from across the city, as the boom of flashbangs resounded throughout America’s capital.
Before the Capitol was breached, Washington Post reporter Rebecca Tan tweeted an 11-second video clip of the throngs streaming toward the building, with some stomping over a flimsy fence marked with an “Area Closed” sign.
“Hundreds of Trump supporters have stormed the barricades at the back of the Capitol and are marching toward the building,” wrote Tan.
In a follow-up tweet, Tan said some attempted to push inside the building, but were rebuffed by police.
“Protesters are charging toward the Captiol [sic] steps. Some tried to scale the construction structures and have been tackled by police,” Tan wrote. “They want to enter the building and are making attempts at intervals. Capitol police trying to hold them back.”
Other journalists on the ground also tweeted footage of the wild scene.
Thousands of supporters of the president had descended on Washington for a raucous Wednesday rally, as Congress moved to finalize the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump himself delivered a fiery speech in the hour leading up to the joint session of Congress, in which he repeated his claim that the election was rigged against him, without providing hard evidence to support the allegation.
Additional reporting by Emily Jacobs
