Chaos at the Capitol: Trump supporters launch assault as Congress counts votes

Chaos at the Capitol: Trump supporters launch assault as Congress counts votes
Cody Fenwick
January 06, 2021Push Notification

Violent crowds of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, while lawmakers carried out the ceremonial process of officially counting the Electoral College votes from the 2020 election.

Following a rally held by Trump a short distance away, crowds of his supporters clashed with Capitol Police who surrounded the building. They charged through barricades and tried to push through law enforcement, who responded by attempting to block the crowd and discharging pepper spray.

Videos shared on Twitter showed the disturbing scene. At the same time, reporters revealed that nearby buildings had been evacuated by Capitol Police for undisclosed reasons.










Despite Joe Biden's decisive 306-232 win, Trump had refused to concede and urged his supporters to oppose the process of affirming the vote. He even openly pushed for Vice President Mike Pence, who oversees the joint session of Congress that counts the vote, to reject enough of Biden's electors to overturn the result. But Pence released a statement shortly before Congress convened confirming, as legal scholars agree, that he has no role in rejecting electors.

Observers have warned for months that the president's rhetoric around the election could lead to violence. He has led his supporters to believe there's no way he could have legitimately lost the election, and therefore, increased the likelihood that they would turn to violence.

He even encouraged the protests of the counting of the Electoral College votes on Wednesday with language that was clearly threatening:



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