Aiming to stop the US Congress from confirming Joe Biden’s victory over US President Donald Trump, thousands of Trump supporters breached the security and entered the Capitol building in Washington DC today. The pro-Trump protestors created chaos that resulted in four fatalities — a woman who was shot by the US Capitol Police, as well as two men and one woman, who died in other medical emergencies. Besides, nearly 52 people were arrested including 26 on US Capitol grounds.
During the demonstration, around 14 Metropolitan Police Department Officers were injured. The police also recovered two pipe bombs — one from the Democratic National Committee and one from Republic National Committee.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump had urged his supporters to conduct a rally the day the US House of Representatives and Senate were scheduled to certify the results of the Electoral College. The Trump supporters fought through police barricades, stormed the building, and entered the lawmakers’ chambers. Immediately, the certification process was stopped and everyone including Vice President Mike Pence and Congress members was evacuated.
Donald Trump tweeted asking protesters to remain peaceful — an hour after the Capitol was put on lockdown.
However, according to US officials, at around 4:15 am (IST), they were successfully able to secure the Capitol building after four hours of confrontation with Trump supporters. However, VP Mike Pence had asked the violence to “stop now”. Later, he even thanked Capitol Hill police for keeping everyone of them safe.
Several reports also indicate that in the absence of any action from President Trump, Mike Pence had to step in and call police action to the area.
Similarly, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (Republican) and House majority leader Nancy Pelosi (Democrat) have released a joint statement urging the US President to ask his supporters to leave the Capitol building.
Former US President Barack Obama has released his statement on today’s violence, stating that ‘History will rightly remember today’s violence at the Capitol.’
Meanwhile, other world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau condemned today’s attack. Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through a tweet, said he is “distressed” to see the violence.
After having dozens of failed lawsuits, falsely claiming the election was stolen, Donald Trump had unsuccessfully tried to repeal the election results. Last month, Joe Biden has confirmed his victory with a solid majority in the US Presidential Elections 2020, becoming the 46th President of the United States. His victory came three days after many uncertainties as election officials sorted through a flood of mail-in votes that delayed the process.
