Capitol Hill was the scene of surreal scenes on Wednesday as demonstrators protesting Democratic Joe Biden’s victory over President Trump stormed the building after listening to the outgoing president’s speech.
The demonstrators turned into rioters as they breached Capitol Police barricades to enter the Capitol Hill Complex where legislators met to endorse the electoral college’s results of the November 3 presidential election, which gave Biden a comprehensive win with 306 votes against Trump’s 232.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnel both declined to support President Trump’s claims of fraud in the electoral votes.
The rioters romped through the Capitol building corridors and even went inside the House chamber.
Congress has been convened to approve the Electoral College’s certification of the election count as sent to them by the 50 U.S. states.
Speaking from Wilmington, Delaware, President-elect Biden termed the rioter’s storming as insurrection and asked President Trump to forcefully ask the protestors to leave the building.
He called it a dark moment and said the U.S. must be a country of laws and condemned the chaos-makers, which he said did not represent Americans.
Afterward, Trump, who earlier had encouraged demonstrators to march to the Capitol Hill, asked them to go back peacefully and said he loved them.
A woman, shot by a law enforcement officer inside the Capitol building, later died of wounds.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced at a Press Conference that the capital would be under curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and said those who violated the law would be dealt with in accordance with the law.
Parts of Virginia were also under curfew as evening rounded off the day’s events – until now considered unthinkable in the American Republic.
