UPDATED: 8:25 a.m. ET, Jan. 7 —
At least four people were killed and more than a dozen police officers injured from Wednesday’s siege on the U.S. capitol waged by pro-Trump white domestic terrorists rioting in baseless opposition of Joe Biden‘s election. The violent attack that included illegally breaking and entering into the Capitol and stealing from vandalized offices took place as Congress convened to count Electoral College votes and certify Biden as the winner.
Congress ultimately confirmed Biden’s win at about 4 a.m. Thursday.
One of the people who died was a woman who was shot in the chest by the U.S. Capitol Police as a gigantic mob overtook the Capitol grounds.
Former President Barack Obama released a statement following the vocal condemnation of his predecessors Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in response to the domestic terrorism at the Capitol.
“History will rightly remember today’s violence at the Capitol, incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election … But we’d be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise,” Obama wrote.
He called for leaders in government to steer the path back towards securing the victory of President-elect Biden’s and thanked those on opposite sides of the aisle for speaking out against the violence.
Members of “The Squad” were using their legislative powers to hold Trump accountable for Wednesday’s violence. Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted that she intends to draw up Articles of Impeachment against Trump and his removal by the Senate, backed by Rep. Ayanna Pressley. The notice came less than two weeks prior to Trump’s scheduled departure on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.
Following those calls to impeach and remove Trump from office, the NAACP released a petition echoing that call to action.
“In the latest show of failed leadership, we witnessed the Capitol under siege by bad actors who had no other objective than to disrupt the constitutional proceedings of a fair and rightful transition of power. At this moment, President Trump is silent and continues to perpetuate lies and disinformation for his selfish amusement and personal gain,” the petition reads.
Affter ignoring multiple requests to censor Donald Trump‘s Twitter account over the last four years, the social media platform finally complied after the violent insurrection.
Twitter removed three tweets from Trump’s account and revealed that it will be locked for 12 hours following. The social media app released a statement that if Trump continues to violate Twitter’s policy, his account will be permanently censured.
One of the tweets in question that were removed from Trump’s account was the since-deleted video he posted on Wednesday afternoon repeating unfounded voter fraud claims and relaying his love for the violent insurgents at the Capitol.
“We love you, you’re very special,” he said directly to the domestic terrorists at one point in the video.
The video came as reports from the White House surfaced that Trump resisted advisers’ advice to condemn the violence.
According to NBC News, YouTube and Facebook also removed the video from their platforms.
Newly elected Congresswoman Cori Bush introduced a resolution asking that members of Congress who participated in undermining the election be expelled.
In contrast to Trump’s reaction, Biden spoke from Delaware and called for the domestic terrorists to retreat. “Our democracy is under unprecedented assault,” Biden said.
When asked if he had worries about his inauguration, he said no.
“I am not concerned about my safety, security or the Inauguration. I am not concerned. The American people are going to stand up, stand up now. Enough is enough is enough,” Biden said as he exited stage.
Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump stirred up more contention earlier in the afternoon in a now deleted tweet where she called the domestic terrorists’ at the Capitol “patriots.”
According to The New York Times, at least two explosives and mysterious package were discovered on Wednesday during the attempted coup. Police recovered a set of explosives at the Beltway headquarters of the Republican National Committee and on the grounds of the Capitol. A suspicious package was intercepted at the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
Reversing course from earlier in the day, D.C. National Guard was finally activated. Police in riot gear also arrived at the scene, however delayed.
The day provided some harrowing imagery from inside the Capitol as the thugs and extremists continued their coup attempt against the Democratic process.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser instituted a mandatory curfew from 6 p.m Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday barring any non-essential travel in and out of the city. Essential workers were not included.
Thousands of protesters have stormed the Capitol, vandalizing property ignited by an early afternoon speech from Donald Trump. Trump appeared at the rally scheduled to contest the outcomes of the election as a joint session of Congress convened to certify the Electoral College vore.
According to C-Span, Speaker Pelosi and other high-ranking members of Congress have been ushered into an unknown, safe location. Other members have been escorted to their chambers as the Electoral College count is on pause.
On social media, many are wondering two things: where are the police, and if the rioters and thugs will be handled in the same way as peaceful protesters who were advocating for Black Lives Matter.
According to Washington Post reporter Aaron C. Davis, the Defense Department denied a request from D.C. officials to activate the National Guard.
Original Story:
Members of Congress are continuing their baseless attempts to undermine the Democratic process as members of the Senate and House meet to verify the Electoral College votes. It is undoubtedly one of the first challenges to President-elect Joe Biden‘s victory.
The day began with Vice President Mike Pence presiding over the count, as pressure from Trump mounts for Pence to go against certifying the votes. However, Pence does not have the authority to do so and responded by penning a letter citing that he has no plans to thwart the constitutional process to which he has sworn to uphold.
“It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,” he wrote according to The New York Times.
Inside the Capitol Republicans forged ahead by contesting against the verification of Arizona’s Electoral votes. GOP Rep. Paul Gosar from Arizona persisted by voicing the objection, backed by his colleague Sen. Ted Cruz.
Gosar’s move signals that there will be a long day and night ahead for members of Congress.
The joint session of Congress was called to split and go into separate chambers to deliberate and vote.
In the Senate’s deliberations, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (who may soon take the title of Minority Leader) voiced opposition against opposing the electoral votes.
Outside the Capitol, violence and resistance ensued as white supremacists attempted to storm the building.
Thousands of white nationalists and supremacists have ascended onto the nation’s capital to contest the results of the election. The videos seem to support the critique that police have little energy for excessive force when the demonstrators aren’t protesting the humanity of Black lives.
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