DC protests: How a mob of rioters took the Capitol building by storm
The fervent protests surrounding the 2020 US election reached an ugly head Wednesday afternoon — but it had been steadily brewing for weeks and its implications could last for years.
The prospect of a huge gathering in Washington, D.C., was first revealed by President Trump as far back as Dec. 19, as he continued to deny losing the election to Joe Biden.
“Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” he tweeted of the protest to mark the day Biden’s win would be certified.
So, after weeks of hype, by 6 a.m. Wednesday thousands had already gathered around the Capitol for what was touted as the “Save America Rally.”
A “notable number” were already wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, Politico noted.
At 10 a.m., Trump’s attorney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, rallied the crowds by saying he was “willing to stake [his] reputation” on election fraud.
“And if we’re wrong, we will be made fools of,” he said. “But if we’re right, a lot of them will go to jail. So let’s have trial by combat.”
Just before noon, the president addressed the crowds in a speech that lasted more than an hour.
“And after this, we’re going to walk down there, and I’ll be there with you, we’re going to walk down … to the Capitol and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women,” he said to cheers, although he did not walk with them as promised.
Lawmakers gathered in the House chamber around 1 p.m. to finally certify Biden’s election win — with rioters clashing with police outside the Capitol building soon after it started.
By 1:10 p.m., protesters had pulled down barriers facing the West Front of the Capitol.
Under threat of a siege, police ordered an evacuation of the Library of Congress, the Madison Building and Cannon House Office Building just before 1:30 p.m.
Within minutes, Trump supporters storm the Statuary Hall, a room that separates the House and Senate, heading towards the House and Senate.
At 1:40 p.m., DC Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a 12-hour curfew in the capital starting from 6 p.m. as the threat of violence heightened.
Just before 2:15 p.m., horrifying images and video started emerging of rioters scaling the walls of the Capitol complex and charging past lines of clearly outnumbered cops.
They attacked cops “with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants and took up other weapons against our officers,” Steven Sund, the Capitol Police chief, would say later. “They were determined to enter into the Capitol Building by causing great damage.”
Lawmakers were then evacuated from the Chamber as rioters started smashing windows and ripping open doors as they were seen roaming Statuary Hall, carrying flags and chanting about election fraud.
Many insisted that they had every right to be there because it was “our house,” belonging to the American people.
Trump broke his silence at 2:38 p.m., tweeting, “Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
Just before 2:43 p.m., some of the most alarming images emerged — of police drawing their guns at the entrance to the House Chamber as rioters try to smash their way in.
Some of the mob made their way to the dais, posing for photos as terrified politicians escaped wearing breathing masks and hoods.
Just before 3 p.m., an officer shot Air Force vet Ashli Babbitt as video showed her trying to climb through into a protected area — one of four fatalities during the day of carnage.
By now, the mob was running rampant — trashing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and smashing windows and ripping apart signs.
At 3:35 p.m., Vice President Mike Pence — one of those rushed to safety — tweeted that “the violence and destruction taking place at the US Capitol Must Stop and it Must Stop Now.”
“Those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he vowed.
By 3:51 p.m., DC’s entire National Guard — about 1,100 troops — was mobilized to back up overwhelmed cops.
Trump released a video telling his supporters to “go home in peace” — while mostly concentrating on their shared “pain” from having the election stolen from them.
In a follow-up message, he told the “great patriots” that they would “remember this day forever!”
While the curfew kicked in at 6 p.m., hundreds of rioters remained in the area for hours — before lawmakers finally returned to the Chamber at 8 p.m. to ratify Biden’s election.
Officials later revealed that three others — one woman and two men — died from “medical emergencies” during the carnage, while at least 14 officers were injured.
Despite the devastation to the hallowed halls of government, an initial tally showed just 52 people had been arrested, soon drawing ire from lawmakers and political commentators.
Of those, most were for breaking the curfew, while others faced weapons charges.
Police also confirmed at an evening press conference that pipe bombs had been found at the headquarters of both the DNC and RNC, and officers also found a cooler packed with Molotov Cocktails.
Pence used the social site again at 8:39 p.m., this time to “condemn the violence” in the “strongest possible terms.”
“We grieve the loss of life in these hallowed halls, as well as the injuries suffered by those who defended our Capitol today,” he wrote.
On Thursday morning, lawmakers were demanding answers on how police had been so easily overwhelmed — as well as many calling for Trump to be removed from office.
A slew of Trump’s staffers started resigning over the scandal, one that his predecessor Barack Obama would forever be remembered “as a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation.”
Trump, meanwhile, lost his most powerful voice — with Twitter locking him out for at least 12 hours, while Facebook and Instagram blocked him “indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks.”
The riotous mob also quickly failed in its objectives. Many of the Senators who had planned to object to Biden’s election win dropped those plans once lawmakers finally sat again, and Biden’s win was certified just after 3:40 a.m.
Within minutes, Trump said there would be an “orderly transition” of power.
The threat of violence, meanwhile, continues — and DC ordered its 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew to continue for another 15 days.
“The violent attack on the US Capitol was unlike any I have ever experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, DC,” Chief of Police Steven Sund said Thursday.
“Make no mistake — these mass riots were not First Amendment activities; they were criminal, riotous behavior.”
With Post wires