- Kirill Belyaninov
- BBC, Washington
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an hour ago
Photo author, Reuters
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Trump supporters stormed the Capitol
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The storming of the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump forced the leaders of the Republican Party, representatives of big business in the United States and even members of the White House administration to talk about the possible removal of the president from power even before the end of his official term of office.
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President Trump’s supporters began flocking to the president’s “Save America” march early in the week.
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By the evening of Tuesday, there were no empty seats in the hotels of the American capital, and on Wednesday morning the National Alley – a vast square in the very center of Washington – was filled with a crowd of thousands, over which the flags of Trump’s election campaign and slogans demanding to cancel Joe Biden’s election victory waved.
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“The Democrats stole our victory, but we will support Donald Trump and will never agree with the results,” Driscoll Higgins, who arrived in the capital from North Dakota, told the BBC’s Russian Service.
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Two hours before the start of the joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, which was to officially certify the victory of Joe Biden, Trump addressed his supporters, urging them to go to the Capitol and support Republican lawmakers who intended to challenge the presidential election.
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Photo author, EPA
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“We’re going to come to the Capitol,” said the US President
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“We are going to come to the Capitol,” the US President said. “We are going to support our brave senators, members of Congress … You can never take back our country if you are weak, you must demonstrate strength and you must be strong.”
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At the end of his speech, the President promised that he himself, together with the demonstrators, would go to the Senate building.
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“We’re going down Pennsylvania Avenue!” – Trump said.
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Instead, however, the head of state got into a black SUV and returned to his residence.
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An hour later, police barriers erected around the Capitol were swept away by the crowd, and several hundred Trump supporters stormed the buildings.
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How was the Capitol taken over?
The first groups of demonstrators entered the Senate buildings on Capitol Hill disguised as ordinary tourists. To enter the premises where the committees of both chambers are held, no passes are required: you just need to go through the frame of an ordinary metal detector, without explaining the reasons for your visit to the police.
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But after only half an hour, hundreds of demonstrators began a real assault.
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Photo author, EPA
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On Wednesday morning, the National Mall – a vast square in the heart of Washington – was filled with a crowd of thousands
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On the eve of the Washington City Hall asked the Pentagon to send additional units of the National Guard to the capital, but this call remained unanswered.
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Later Wednesday on social media video frames appeared, in which the police guarding the Capitol, themselves removed the barriers, allowing demonstrators to enter the territory unhindered.
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Already at 14:30 local time, a general evacuation was announced at the Capitol.
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Vice President Michael Pence, Speaker of Congress Nancy Palosi, and Republican Majority Leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell were escorted from the courtroom by the US Secret Service.
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The rest of the legislators were recommended by law enforcement officers to lock themselves in their own offices. Some of them took refuge under chairs in the conference room.
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The protesters broke into the Senate building, smashing windows and smashing furniture along the way.
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One of the protesters took a seat in the conference room where the Vice President of the United States was sitting just a few minutes ago. A group of Trump supporters infiltrated the Speaker’s office, leaving a “We will not retreat” note on her desk.
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Photo author, Reuters
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Demonstrators were able to freely enter the territory of the Capitol
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Soon shots rang out in the building. Police later confirmed that a woman who had traveled to take part in the protests from California, a veteran of the armed forces, was fatally injured. The reasons why the law enforcement officers were forced to open fire are still not named.
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Later, three more victims were found on the territory of the Capitol – a woman and two men. The cause of death was reportedly a medical emergency.
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During the riots, at least 14 police officers were injured. Two were hospitalized – one was seriously injured after being dragged into a crowd and the other was wounded in the face.
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Police also used flash bangs and tear gas to push the protesters out of the upper floors of the Senate building.
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As it became known, FBI specialists found and defused two improvised explosive devices on Capitol Hill. One of them was laid near the headquarters of the Republican Party.
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Only two hours after Trump supporters occupied the Capitol, the first National Guard troops arrived.
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Together with the FBI special forces, they began to sweep the buildings. At the same time, the protesters, who recently destroyed furniture and painted with slogans “Death to the press!” the walls of the Senate complex emerged from the buildings quite calmly. According to official data, only fifteen people were detained, later this number increased to 50.
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How did you react to the capture of the Capitol?
Most Democrats and Republicans blamed President Trump for the incident, describing the riots as a coup attempt.
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“This is a direct consequence of the president’s habit of wreaking havoc everywhere,” said Republican Senator Ben Sassi.
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Photo author, Reuters
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At 5:30 pm, the Senate Buildings Administration announced that the protesters had left the grounds
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“All that has happened today is a riot orchestrated by the President of the United States,” said Republican Senator Mitt Romney.
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“I have no doubt that the president organized this crowd, inspired this crowd, and … it was he who started the fire,” said Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
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Since the beginning of events on Capitol Hill, the White House has stubbornly refused to comment. Minutes after both Houses of Congress were evacuated, Donald Trump tweeted: “I am calling on everyone in the Capitol to remain peaceful.”
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A little later, he posted on Twitter a video message calling on the protesters to disperse to their homes, adding that he personally loves them and considers them special people.
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It wasn’t until 5:30 pm, three hours after the first clashes at the barriers around Capitol Hill began, that the Senate building administration announced that the protesters had left the site. Half an hour later, the senators resumed the meeting to certify the election results.
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Traditionally, ballots were delivered to the Senate building on Wednesday morning in special wooden boxes. When the protesters burst into the meeting room, the staff of the Congress were able to take out these boxes.
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In the evening it became known that the heads of the largest US companies and business associations, including Citi Bank and the Chamber of Industrialists, appealed to lawmakers to immediately remove Donald Trump from power, using the right that the 25th amendment to the US Constitution gives.
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This possibility, according to US media reports, is being discussed by the current members of the cabinet.
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Trump himself has not yet commented on the events in his own capital. On Wednesday evening, Twitter announced that it would deprive the current president of the right to post any messages on social networks for 12 hours, threatening to block him for life.
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Later, other major social networks – Facebook, Instagram and YouTube – reported about the blocking of Trump’s accounts and the removal of his video message.
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