Woman shot dead is dead: Police drive Trump supporters out of the Capitol

Thursday, January 07, 2021

Woman wounded is dead
Police evict Trump supporters from the Capitol

Angry Trump supporters storm parliament in Washington. There are chaotic scenes, shots are fired, a woman dies. Security forces have now regained control of the situation. The certification of the election results will continue that evening.

After supporters of the elected US President Donald Trump penetrated the Capitol, the Parliament building in Washington is now secured again. The AP news agency reported early Wednesday evening (local time), citing officials responsible. The certification of the presidential election results that has already started is to be continued in the course of the evening. The US House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, announced that it had been decided to continue with the meeting as soon as the Congress seat was cleared.

Just hours earlier, angry Trump supporters had caused chaos and violence in the political center of the United States. Trump supporters marched outside the Capitol to protest the certification of the election results after the Republican gave a heated speech. Rioters stormed the congress building. The two chambers of congress had to abruptly interrupt their sessions, parliament halls were cleared, and MPs were brought to safety.

A woman was shot in the Capitol. She later succumbed to her injuries, a police spokeswoman confirmed. The exact background was initially unclear. The NBC broadcaster reported several injuries, citing security forces.

Images from the CNN broadcaster showed how rioters smashed window panes, thus gaining access to the building and also breaking into parliamentary offices. In another picture, a protester posed in the vacated Senate Chamber with his fist raised on the chairman's seat.

Senate employees were able to secure documents with the results of the votes of the electorate in the individual US states. The documents form the basis for the appointment of future President Joe Biden. Senator Jeff Merkley posted a photo of wooden boxes on Twitter and wrote that if employees hadn't taken the ballot papers, "they would have been burned by the mob."

Mayor imposes curfew

According to the White House, the National Guard should be deployed. The mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, ordered a curfew in the face of the rioting – from early evening to early Thursday morning. MPs who had gone to safety spoke up on social media or by phone on national television.

Republican MP Adam Kinzinger, for example, called the CNN incident "disgusting" and "absolutely despicable". Future US President Joe Biden spoke of an attack on democracy. "Storming the Capitol, breaking windows, occupying offices, occupying the United States Senate, rummaging through the desks of the House of Representatives in the Capitol, and threatening the safety of duly elected officials is not a protest," Biden said. "It's riot." Former US President George W. Bush also condemned the riots. "This is how election results are contested in a banana republic – not in our democratic republic."

The House of Representatives and Senate met in the Capitol on Wednesday noon (local time) to officially confirm the results of the US presidential election in November – and Biden's victory. Thousands of Trump supporters flocked to the US capital to protest the certification of the election result. Trump had lost the election by a clear margin against the democratic challenger Biden. But he refuses to admit defeat. Trump claims he was deprived of victory through massive fraud – but without providing any convincing evidence.

Twitter blocks Trump account

Shortly before the start of the congressional session, Trump appeared in front of his supporters near the Capitol, reiterated his unsubstantiated election fraud allegations and called on his supporters to move to the Capitol. You shouldn't put up with the "theft" of choice.

After numerous politicians urged Trump to stop the outbreak of violence, the president published a video message on Twitter calling on his supporters to withdraw. He understands the anger over the outcome of the election, "but you have to go home now," said Trump in the clip. "We must have peace, we must have law and order."

Twitter later suspended Trump's account for twelve hours for violating the guidelines. Three tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account had "repeatedly and seriously" violated the guidelines and had to be deleted, said Twitter. If the deletion does not take place, the account would remain blocked, it said.

US Vice President Mike Pence became clearer. Trump's deputy wrote on Twitter: "Peaceful protest is the right of every American, but this attack on our Capitol will not be tolerated and those involved will be held accountable with all the severity of the law." Pence had chaired the congressional session before the interruption. Trump had called on him directly to oppose the certification of the election result – contrary to the legal requirements. However, Pence rejected this request.

The certification of election results is usually a formality in the USA. For weeks, however, Trump had presented this day of the congressional session – without any basis – as the last chance to overturn the election result. In fact, the election results cannot be shaken. The Republicans' political disruptive action also had no prospect of success from the start. Several high-ranking Republicans had criticized the planned action of their party colleagues and Trump's ongoing campaign against the election result as dangerous.

Biden is to be sworn in on January 20th. He can hope to have both chambers in Congress behind him in the future. According to forecasts by the US media, the Democrats secured control of the US Senate by winning two runoff elections in the state of Georgia, as it became known on Wednesday amid the turmoil. The Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff prevailed against the previous Republican incumbent David Perdue. Previously, the Democrat Raphael Warnock had already been declared the winner in the race against the Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler.

With a de facto majority in the Senate, Biden can rule through the next congressional elections in two years – provided the Democrats in Congress pull together. The Democrats already have a majority in the House of Representatives.