Washington – The Capitol building was placed on lockdown, with senators and members of the House locked inside their chambers, as Congress began debating President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. President Trump addressed supporters near the White House before protesters marched to Capitol Hill.
Pence and lawmakers evacuated as protesters storm the Capitol, halting Congress’s counting of electoral votes.
Pence rejected Trump’s pressure to block certification saying he ‘loves the Constitution.’
Trump, speaking to protesters, declared ‘we will never concede.’ Trump supporters had gathered in Washington to protest the certification of Biden’s victory. Democrats were ebullient as they appear headed for a Senate takeover. Biden was planning to nominate Merrick Garland for attorney general.
A Democratic takeover of the Senate would redefine Biden’s presidency in dramatic ways.
Supporters of President Trump swarmed and entered the Capitol building in Washington on Wednesday, prompting a lockdown and portions of the grounds to be evacuated.
Around 2:15 p.m., as the House and Senate debated a move by a faction of Republicans to overturn the election results, the proceedings ground to a halt as security rushed Vice President Mike Pence out of the Senate chamber and the Capitol building was placed on lockdown, with senators and members of the House locked inside their respective chambers. Shortly afterward, the police escorted senators and members of House from the building to others nearby, as the protesters swarmed the hallways just steps from where lawmakers were meeting, carrying pro-Trump paraphernalia.
The extraordinary day in Washington laid bare deep divisions both between the two parties and within Republican ranks, when the ceremonial counting of electoral votes that unfolds every four years in Congress was transformed into an explosive spectacle, with Mr. Trump stoking the unrest.
“This is what you’ve gotten, guys,” Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, yelled as the mayhem unfolded in the Senate chamber, apparently addressing his colleagues who were leading the charge to press Mr. Trump’s false claims of a stolen election.
After exhorting his supporters to go to the Capitol to register their discontent on Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump tried later in the day to tamp down on the violence.
“Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement,” he tweeted. “They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!”
In a scene of chaos and confusion seldom witnessed in the history of the capital, hundreds of protesters barreling past fence barricades outside the Capitol and clashing with officers — with shouting demonstrators mobbing the second floor lobby just outside the Senate chamber as law enforcement officials placed themselves in front of the chamber doors.
Representative Nancy Mace, a freshman Republican from South Carolina, described seeing protesters “assaulting Capitol Police.” In a Twitter post, Ms. Mace shared a video of the chaos and wrote, “This is wrong. This is not who we are. I’m heartbroken for our nation today.”
Other Republican lawmakers, locked inside the Capitol, used their Twitter feeds to urge the protesters to be peaceful.
“This is a coup attempt,” Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois, said.
The police fired what appeared to be flash-bang grenades. Rather than disperse, the protesters cheered and shouted, “push forward, push forward.” One protester shouted, “that’s our house,” meaning the Capitol. Other protesters repeatedly shouted, “You swore an oath.”
As officers and protesters clashed outside, lawmakers had debating an objection to the certification of Arizona electors, ensconced in their respective chambers. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, warned of a “death spiral” for democracy, while Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, listed a litany of accusations of election fraud with little evidence.
“I don’t recognize our country today, and the members of Congress who have supported this anarchy do not deserve to represent their fellow Americans,” said Representative Elaine Luria, Democrat of Virginia.
Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington put a curfew in place from 6 p.m. Eastern Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday.
Vice President Mike Pence, in a bold statement on Wednesday afternoon, rejected President Trump’s pressure to block congressional certification of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory in the presidential election, claiming that he lacked the “unilateral authority” to decide the outcome of the presidential election.
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