Protesters storm U.S. Capitol building during certification of Biden win
U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence was pulled from the House Chamber floor as, and police dispersed tear gas to push back protesters, telling members of Congress inside the House chamber to put on gas masks. Several senators tweeted they were sheltering in their offices while security evacuated much of the building.
The protests interrupted Congress as Republican lawmakers mounted their first official challenge to the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election win, objecting to state results from Arizona as they took up Trump’s relentless effort to overturn the election results in an extraordinary joint session of Congress.
One protester made it onto the House Chamber dais and yelled “Trump won that election.”
Republicans had just mounted their first objection to Arizona’s electoral vote count when the floor was evacuated.
Sen. Ted Cruz, who led a group of 12 Republican senators promising to reject the Electoral College results, called for an “emergency audit” of the elections results. The Electoral College favoured Biden to win with 306 electoral college votes to Trump’s 232.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered a strong rebuke to the challenge, saying the country “cannot keep drifting apart into two separate tribes,” adding that this attempt to overturn the election results would “damage the republic forever.”
Promising to vote against any objections to the count, he promised to “respect the people’s decision.”
“The voters, the courts and the states all have spoken,” McConnell said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump had urged the massive crowd of protesters to march towards the Capitol, vowing he would “never concede” to Biden.
“We will never give up,” he said.
Rep. Veronica Escobar said she was currently sheltering as both the Capitol building, House and Senate chambers were locked down. She blamed Trump for the breach, claiming “this is the chaos and lawles
Shortly after, Trump tweeted asking protesters to “stay peaceful!”
In a following tweet, he asked those at the U.S. Captiol to “respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser initiated a city-wide curfew for D.C., that will go from Wednesday at 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. on Thursday.
“Essential workers, including healthcare personnel and media, are exempt,” the emergency alert read.
More to come.
— With files from The Associated Press