Congress suspends session: Trump supporters storm Washington Capitol

Wednesday, January 06, 2021

Congress interrupts session
Trump supporters storm Washington Capitol

In a speech, the outgoing US President Trump once again raved about alleged electoral fraud. Then he calls on his supporters to storm parliament in the capital Washington. Hundreds of them willingly go out.

After hundreds of supporters from US President Donald Trump rushed to the Capitol in Washington, the parliamentary seat was cordoned off. Inside, the members of the Senate and House of Representatives had gathered to confirm the result of the presidential election on November 3rd. The protesters made their way to the steps in front of the building in Washington. Pictures from several TV channels show how Trump supporters march on the parliamentary seat and get fisted with emergency services. According to the Washington Post, at least two nearby buildings belonging to the parliamentary complex have been evacuated.

You can find all developments in our live ticker for the showdown in the US Congress.

The call for the attack may have come from Trump personally. Shortly before, during a speech near the parliamentary complex, he had called on his followers to move to the Capitol. This houses the US Senate and the US House of Representatives.

It is not clear to what extent demonstrators were actually able to penetrate the building complex. Journalist Elijah Schaffer explains that Trump supporters had overcome four security rings before they had fistfights with the police at the entrance to the Capitol. The police were overrun, he says.

Almost at the same time, the joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives began in the Capitol to confirm the result of the presidential election on November 3. The Republican majority leader in the US Senate, Mitch McConnell, opposed attempts by his own party not to recognize the election result at the beginning of the session. The voters, the states and the courts had spoken – "if we overrule them, it could damage our republic forever," he said.

Trump has been claiming since his defeat that upcoming President Joe Biden's Democrats stole the election. However, there is no evidence of this.