Trump supporters storm Congress as Pence and lawmakers run for safety: Mob smashes through police barriers and wall of tear gas to stop Biden's victory being certified - after President told them to march on the Capitol to 'stop the steal'
- The Capitol has gone on lockdown after thousands of Donald Trump's supporters stormed the building in protest of Congress certifying the election for Joe Biden
- Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday he will not follow President Donald Trump's demand that he overturn the election, vowing he will heed to the constitution, adding 'So Help Me God'
- Pence sent a letter to the 535 senators and representatives on Capitol Hill ahead of his presiding over the Joint Session that will certify Joe Biden's victory
- He said vice presidents in the past have conducted 'the proceedings in an orderly manner even where the count resulted in the defeat of their party or their own candidacy'
- Donald Trump addressed thousands of his supporters at his rally Wednesday just before Congress was to begin counting the electoral votes that will make Joe Biden the next president
- Trump threatened Mike Pence telling him to overturn the general election results shortly before Congress s was to begin counting the electoral votes that will make Joe Biden the next president
- In an extraordinary speech, Trump once again called his election 'rigged' and said, 'We will never concede'
In an unprecedented attack on the U.S. Capitol, protesters supporting President Donald Trump rushed the stairs of the building and smashed windows as they pushed their way inside.
In a massive security breach, the protesters, waving blue Trump flags, breached the Senate chamber, making their way inside as senators were rushed from the room by U.S. Capitol Police.
They were heard banging on the doors of the House chamber and yelling outside as police officers rushed lawmakers out of the chamber and to safety.
There were reports of gun shots outside of the House as an armed stand off took place at the doors of the chamber.
'We've been given gas masks on the House floor. Tear gas has been used in the Rotunda,' wrote Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly on twitter.
Vice President Mike Pence, presiding in the Senate, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, presiding in the House, were removed from their respective chambers at the first hint of the breach for their own safety.
The protesters filled the rotunda, which sets below the dome of the Capitol and is filled with paintings depicting important scenes in the founding of the nation. They also were seen marching through Statuary Hall, the room off the House chamber that is filled with statues of the nation's founders and used for special ceremonies.
In the crypt of the Capitol, where George Washington was originally supposed to be buried, police and protesters clashed, fighting it out.
'We now have individuals that have breached the Capitol building. They are in the Rotunda area,' Capitol police said.
Trump urged his supporters to stay peaceful, in a tweet that came after they had breached the building. At a rally earlier that morning, he had encouraged them to march on the Capitol, where lawmakers were certifying the electoral college vote for Joe Biden.
'Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!,' the president wrote.
But he did not tell them to leave.
U.S. Capitol Police used tear gas as hundreds of people were seen climbing the marble steps outside the building. They banged on the locked doors of the Capitol and smashed the glass in the doors.
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An army of Donald Trump's supporters stormed Congress Wednesday after he told them to march on the Capitol – with Mike Pence, Nancy Pelosi and lawmakers rushed to safety as thousands threatened to break through police barricades
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Members of congress ran from the floor as police ordered them to evacuate to their offices for their own safety after a mob smashed through police barricades
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The storming brought the certification of Joe Biden's victory to a halt – after Pence said he would defy Trump and refuse to overturn the election single-handed
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Supporters of Donald Trump are seen inside the US Capitol after rioters breached security and entered the Capitol
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Protesters gesture to U.S. Capitol Police in the hallway outside of the Senate chamber at the Capitol
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A rioter holds a Trump flag inside the US Capitol after storming the building
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Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress
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Images emerged shortly before of hundreds of protesters descending on the steps of the Capitol after rallying near the White House for President Donald Trump
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A Capitol Police officer urged lawmakers to leave the building after top leaders were escorted out
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Vice President Mike Pence has refused to follow Donald Trump's demand to overturn the electoral college results and certify Joe Biden's election victory
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President Donald Trump threatened Vice President Mike Pence telling him to overturn the general election results shortly before Congress s was to begin counting the electoral votes that will make Joe Biden the next president
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Pence acknowledged Trump's allegations the election was rigged, which there has been no proof and no court has upheld, in a likely peace offering to the president
One protester jumped up on the dais, where the president of the Senate presides, and yelled: 'Trump won that election.'
Several dozen protesters roamed the halls of the Capitol, yelling: 'Where are they?'
Tear gas was being used by Capitol Police as protesters filled both the House and Senate side of the Capitol.
Another protester in the Senate yelled: 'Where's Pence, show yourself!'
The chaos caused the Capitol to go on lock down and disrupted the certification of the electoral college vote that would cement Biden’s victory.
The images played out live on national television and on social media. One of the protesters tweeted a photo from Speaker Pelosi’s office, meaning the person made it to the center of the Capitol.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a 6am curfew for the city.
As footage started coming out of Capitol Hill being breached by angry Trump supporters, Donald Trump Jr. tried to quell the outburst with a tweet – that was critical of Democrats and liberals.
'This is wrong and not who we are. Be peaceful and use your 1st Amendment rights, but don't start acting like the other side,' Trump Jr. wrote. 'We have a country to save and this doesn't help anyone.'
Meanwhile, the president continued to direct his rage at Pence, who earlier announced he would not single-handedly overturn the election results from his position of the chair.
Trump tweeted as the chaos ensued inside the U.S. Capitol
'Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!' the president wrote.
The extraordinary breech was a departure from security mishaps of the past. Protesters have routinely disrupted televised hearings while in progress and even events inside the House chamber. But trained Capitol Police are usually able to arrest disruptors and remove them immediately. Often formal charges are never filed.
But in Wednesday's storming of the building, dozens of people made it by armed police officers and entered the building without going through any security set up to keep out those with weapons or dangerous items.
There were occasions after Sept. 11th when the building was placed on lockdown and people were ordered to leave, but this usually happened when suspicious packages were discovered.
There are more than 2,000 Capitol Police officer with jurisdiction over Capitol grounds. But footage from inside the building did not show an immediate effort to make mass arrests.
When the building is open, as it was before the pandemic, members of the general public are not allowed to walk unescorted on the second floor where lawmakers enter and exit the legislative chambers.
The protesters were aided by scaffolding constructed for the upcoming inauguration.
In another tense piece of video from inside, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) tweeted video of protesters repeatedly rushing Capitol Police officers in the crypt, in the ground floor part of the building under the rotunda.
'I like many people voted for President Trump in the 2020 election and hoped for a different result,' McCaul wrote. 'But violence and destruction is not the way to express your grievances. This is disgraceful and has to end.'
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Members of the far-right group Proud Boys make 'OK' hand gestures indicating 'white power' during the chaos
