Live updates from DC: 4 people dead after rioters storm the Capitol, police say
On a day Congress prepared to certify the Electoral College vote, supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Here’s the latest. Check back for updates.
Congress certifies election
Congress certified the election at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday, cementing Joe Biden’s win as president.
Lawmakers had reconvened hours after a mob of President Donald Trump supporters stormed into the Capitol.
4 people dead, more than 50 arrested
Four people, including one woman who was shot by police, are dead after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, police say.
Two men and one woman suffered “medical emergencies” during the riots, Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said during a press conference Wednesday night.
Another woman was shot by police as rioters broke into the Capitol, Contee said.
Police arrested at least 52 people, he said.
Two pipe bombs were found outside the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee, according to police.
Congress continues process to count electoral votes
Congress gathered shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday to continue to count Electoral College votes to certify the 2020 election.
The process had been interrupted hours hours when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol.
“Violence never wins,” Vice President Mike Pence said as members of Congress came back together. “Freedom wins, and this is still the people’s house.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, said they will complete the process “the right way.”
“We will certify the winner of the 2020 presidential election,” McConnell said. “Criminal behavior will never dominate the U.S. Congress.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, also condemned the violence and said it would not stop Congress from counting votes.
“In the end, all this mob has accomplished is to delay our work by a few hours,” Schumer said.
Twitter, Facebook lock Trump’s accounts
Twitter and Facebook have disabled President Donald Trump’s accounts.
Twitter locked the president’s account for 12 hours, the social media platform announced at about 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The company removed three of the president’s tweets because they were “violations of our Civic Integrity policy,” Twitter said.
If Trump further violates Twitter’s policies, the company said, his account will be permanently suspended.
“We’ll continue to evaluate the situation in real time, including examining activity on the ground and statements made off Twitter,” the social media platform said. “We will keep the public informed, including if further escalation in our enforcement approach is necessary.”
Facebook announced late Wednesday that Trump’s page will be blocked for 24 hours. “We’ve assessed two policy violations against President Trump’s Page which will result in a 24-hour feature block, meaning he will lose the ability to post on the platform during that time.”
Congress to resume counting electoral votes Wednesday evening, Pelosi says
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues that Congress will continue counting Electoral College votes on Wednesday evening, The New York Times reported.
“We always knew this responsibility would take us into the night,” Ms. Pelosi wrote, according to the Times. “We also knew that we would be a part of history in a positive way today, despite ill-founded objections to the Electoral College vote. We now will be part of history, as such a shameful picture of our country was put out to the world, instigated at the highest level.”
Rioters destroy media equipment, video shows
Rioters approached members of the media outside the Capitol and destroyed equipment on Wednesday, video posted to social media shows.
They screamed profanity and called members of the media “propaganda” and “communists,” video shows. They used flags to smash equipment, and they threw tripods and cameras on the ground.
U.S. Capitol secured, authorities say
Authorities say the U.S. Capitol and its grounds have been secured after a pro-Trump mob broke in and forced Congress to evacuate as it considered certifying the results of the November presidential election, CNN, The New York Times and Reuters reported at about 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Woman shot at Capitol dies
Multiple news agencies, including NBC News and The Washington Post, reported Wednesday evening that a woman shot during the violence at the U.S. Capitol has died.
The woman was shot around 3 p.m., media outlets and reporters said on social media. Footage aired on MSNBC showed paramedics wheeling the person out on a stretcher while they performed CPR.
Former presidents condemn violence at Capitol
Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton all issued statements Wednesday condemning the events that unfolded Wednesday at the Capitol.
In a statement just before 8 p.m., Obama said the Republican Party “and its accompanying media ecosystem” have been untruthful.
“Their fantasy narrative has spiraled further and further from reality, and it builds upon years of sown resentments. Now we’re seeing the consequences, whipped up into a violent crescendo.”
In a statement Wednesday evening, Bush said the violence was “inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes.”
He told rioters the country was “more important than the politics of the moment” and urged them to let lawmakers resume their business “in peace and safety.”
Clinton wrote in a statement that the event was fueled by four years of “poison politics” and the spread of misinformation.
“The match was lit by Donald Trump and his most ardent enablers, including many in Congress, to overturn the results of an election he lost,” Clinton wrote in the statement. “The election was free, the count was fair, the result is final. We must complete the peaceful transfer of power our Constitution mandates.”
Trump tells rioters to ‘go home’
In a video statement from the White House posted to Twitter Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump reiterated false claims that a “landslide” election was stolen and said he understood people’s anger.
”You have to go home now,” Trump said. “We have to have peace.”
Twitter immediately flagged the post for containing misinformation about the election, preventing it from being shared “due to a risk of violence.”
Citing “an emergency situation,” a Facebook executive wrote on Twitter around 5:45 p.m. that the social media platform had removed Trump’s video.
“We removed it because on balance we believe it contributes to rather than diminishes the risk of ongoing violence,” said Guy Rosen, vice president of integrity at Facebook.
Vice President Mike Pence also called for an end to the violence on Twitter around 3:30 p.m.
“Peaceful protest is the right of every American but this attack on our Capitol will not be tolerated and those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he wrote.
Biden calls on ‘extremists’ to end siege of Capitol
A somber President-Elect Joe Biden said the attacks by a “small number of extremists” represent “chaos” and that it “borders on sedition.”
”An assault on the rule of law like few times we’ve ever seen it,” Biden said. “An assault on the most sacred of American undertakings, the doing of the people’s business.”
“The words of a president can inspire,” Biden said. “At their worst they can incite.”
He called on Trump to go on national television and “demand an end to this siege.”
“The world’s watching,” Biden said, saying he was “shocked and saddened” that the U.S. “has come to such a dark moment.”
“America’s so much better than what we’ve seen today,” he said.
Trump calls in National Guard
The National Guard has been called into the Capitol at President Donald Trump’s direction, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement on Twitter just after 3:30 p.m.
“We reiterate President Trump’s call against violence and to remain peaceful,” she wrote.
Virginia also deployed its National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., The New York Times reported on Twitter. Other journalists reported Maryland also has dispatched National Guard units.
The Secret Service and Federal Protective Service are moving to the U.S. Capitol to reinforce Capitol Police there, CBS News reported.
House and Senate evacuated as rioters converge
The House floor and Senate were evacuated Wednesday afternoon.
Lawmakers were told to retrieve gas masks from under their seats.
“Be prepared to get under your chairs if necessary,” a police officer told the chamber around 2:30 p.m., McClatchy News reporter Alex Daugherty tweeted.
Pro-Trump rioters entered the Senate chamber just before 3 p.m., according to HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic.
“Trump won that election,” one person reportedly yelled from the dais.
Law enforcement on the House floor are in a standoff with a mob outside, images shared on social media show. Several officers were seen with their guns drawn.
At some point, police used tear gas.
Romney calls chaos an ‘insurrection,’ blames Trump
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, reportedly called the chaos engulfing the U.S. Capitol an “insurrection” and laid the blame on President Donald Trump.
“This is what the president has caused today, this insurrection,” Romney told a reporter as senators evacuated their chamber, The New York Times reported.
“This is what you’ve gotten, guys,” Romney shouted at senators supporting Trump’s bid to decertify election results in states he lost, journalist Vicky Ward of the New York Times reported on Twitter.
Trump calls for peace
President Donald Trump urged his supporters to “please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement” in a tweet just after 2:30 p.m.
“They are truly on the side of our Country,” he wrote. “Stay peaceful!”
At 3:13 p.m., he told supporters to “remain peaceful.”
“No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue,” Trump wrote.
Earlier in the day, Trump addressed supporters in a speech near the Capitol.
D.C. mayor institutes 6 p.m. curfew
Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a citywide curfew in Washington, D.C. starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The curfew will remain in effect until 6 a.m. Thursday, she said.
“During the hours of the curfew, no person other than persons designated by the mayor, shall walk, bike, run, loiter, stand or motor by car or other mode of transportation upon any street, alley, park or other public space within the district,” the order states.
Rioters breach Capitol Building
Trump supporters have torn down security barriers and are throwing items at Capitol Police, according to social media reports.
At least four layers of security fencing were ripped down in an attempt to occupy the Capitol, Elijah Schafer, a reporter at The Blaze, tweeted.
People standing in a tower outside the Capitol directed those below to keep going with chants of “Move forward and we can beat them,” Andrew Egger, a reporter with The Dispatch, wrote on Twitter.
Staffers evacuated on Capitol Hill
Staffers were evacuated from the Madison and Cannon buildings on Capitol Hill just after 1 p.m., according to multiple reports.
Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia tweeted at 1:45 p.m. she had to evacuate her office “because of a pipe bomb reported outside.”
“Supporters of the President are trying to force their way into the Capitol and I can hear what sounds like multiple gunshots,” she wrote.
Vice President Mike Pence was pulled from the floor of the U.S. Senate just after 2 p.m.
McConnell speaks out
Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell condemned efforts to overturn the presidential election on Wednesday, saying it would be a “death spiral.”
“The votes, the court and the state have all spoken,” he said. “If we overrule them, it would ruin our republic forever.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Live updates from DC: 4 people dead after rioters storm the Capitol, police say."
