US Capitol protest LIVE – 4 DEAD and bombs found around Capitol after siege as Donald Trump calls MAGA rioters 'special'
FOUR people have died after a night of carnage in the heart of American government.
One of those who died was former US Air Force veteran Ashli Babbit of San Diego, who in a graphic video was seen being shot by Capitol police after trying to climb through a broken window and enter the Chamber.
Bombs, Molotov cocktails and guns were discovered all over the Capitol area after the siege which saw pro-Trump rioters storming the building, rummaging through politicians' draws and sitting at their desks.
The carnage was eventually broken up a few hours later and Trump eventually told his supporters to go home. But rather than condemn their actions he called them "special" and insisted he understood their anger.
Follow all the latest developments via our live blog below...
- Niamh Cavanagh
DONALD DUMPED
Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have joined Twitter in banning Donald Trump from their platforms.
It came after he praised as "great patriots" a violent mob that yesterday stormed the US Capitol building to try to stop lawmakers certifying the results of November's election.
Twitter locked the President's account for 12 hours after his posts were restricted and deemed at risk of inciting violence.
Pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol – which resulted in the building locking down and one person being fatally shot dead.
After restricting the interaction with the messages – one a video – to quote tweets, the platform later pulled his account – which is now at risk of being banned permanently.
- Niamh Cavanagh
BREAKING
Joe Biden has been officially declared president-elect after Congress certified the Electoral College count.
The confirmation came after lawmakers threw out Republican challenges to the results in several states following a day of violence that saw a mob of Donald Trump supporters storm Congress.
What is normally a ceremonial process became politically charged after the President failed to overturn the outcome in the courts and urged GOP lawmakers to object to the results in a handful of battleground states.
After sitting into the early morning Vice President Mike Pence finally certified the Electoral College count of 306 electors in favor of the Democrat Biden against 232 in favor of Trump.
Immediately after the certification, the White House released a statement from Trump in which he pledged an "orderly transition" on January 20 when Biden will be sworn into office.
- Niamh Cavanagh
TRUMP SUPPORTERS POSE FOR SELFIES WITH CAPITOL HILL COPS
- Niamh Cavanagh
PICTURED: MIKE PENCE HUGGED AT CONCLUSION OF THE COUNT OF ELECTORAL VOTES
Credit: Getty Images – Getty - Niamh Cavanagh
OUT FOR BLOOD
Trump supporters erected gallows outside the US Capitol yesterday as MAGA fans stormed the building to protest and stop the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
The wooden structure with an orange rope meant to hang someone stood outside the government building, with supporters of President Donald Trump gathered around it.
Hundreds of Trump fans sieged the Capitol building in chaotic clashes that included a woman being reportedly shot dead.
Lawmakers were trapped inside the building, and Vice President Mike Pence was evacuated.
A recording played inside the Capitol informing lawmakers that due to an “external security threat,” no one could would be allowed to enter or exit the complex.
The National Guard was deployed as officials attempted to take back the building from the protesters, CNN reported.
- Niamh Cavanagh
RECAP – MEDIA ATTACKED
Rioters wreaking havoc on Capitol Hill have turned on members of the media in a violent confrontation in Washington DC.
In footage posted online, a mob of MAGA supporters can be seen closing in on a small number of camera operators and yelling "f*** the media" outside the building.
Within seconds, the clash turned ugly as the rioters picked up pieces of camera equipment – including lighting stands and cameras – and destroyed them.
Several rioters can be seen throwing, kicking, and smashing the equipment while others yell "light it up". One man appeared to be using a flag pole as a weapon.
- Niamh Cavanagh
CONTINUED
And Trump's supporters "invading the sanctity of their chambers" yesterday was reportedly the last straw for many Republicans who now want the president banished from the party.
Political correspondents at both CNN and CBS also reported that bombshell talks to remove Trump from office are underway.
“I’m talking about actual members of the Cabinet,” CBS News' Margaret Brennan said, adding that "nothing formal (has) yet presented to VP Pence".
CNN's Jim Acosta tweeted: "Some cabinet members are holding preliminary discussions about invoking the 25th amendment to force Trump’s removal from office, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.
"It’s unclear whether the effort would ultimately be successful at this stage."
Senior State Department officials are encouraging 25th Amendment talks along with other officials at the White House, according to two sources, Axios reports.
Invoking the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office was a choice that nearly all GOP leaders previously passed on making during last year's impeachment trial.
- Niamh Cavanagh
KNIVES OUT
Republicans are plotting to remove Donald Trump as president after his supporters stormed the US Capitol, according to reports.
Cabinet secretaries and senior GOP members reportedly want to invoke the 25th Amendment and put Vice President Mike Pence in charge just two weeks before the end of Trump's term.
The 25th amendment of the US Constitution allows the vice president to take office if the president should be "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office".
Republicans are said to be "furious" at Trump for stirring up his supporters with false claims of election fraud, Axios reports.
Senior figures believe the brash firebrand has "disgraced" the party and encouraged the MAGA mob to "attack" American democracy, the report says.
- Niamh Cavanagh
LATEST – JOE FOR LAUNCH
Joe Biden has been officially been named as president elect after Congress certified the Electoral College count.
Lawmakers voted on challenges by supporters of Donald Trump to the results in several states, following a day of violence that saw a supporter of the President shot dead.
What is normally a ceremonial process became politically charged after the President failed to overturn the outcome in the courts and urged GOP lawmakers to object to the results in a handful of battleground states.
After sitting into the early morning Vice President Mike Pence finally certified the Electoral College count of 306 electors in favor of the Democrat against 232 in favor of Trump.
Congress' count to formalize Biden's victory was interrupted on Wednesday afternoon by Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol building, forcing lawmakers to halt the vote.
- Niamh Cavanagh
CONTINUED
Babbit, who used the Twitter handle CommonAshSense, also retweeted Wednesday morning — a few hours ahead of her and other Trump supporters storming the Capitol — a “MUST BE DONE LIST before Congress meets today.”
It included, “Mike Pence@vp @Mike_Pence must resign & thereafter be charged with TREASON,” and, “Chief Justice John Roberts must RESIGN.”
In a televised address tonight, Vice President Mike Pence said: "We grieve the loss of life."
"Violence never wins," he said.
"Freedom wins. And this is still the peoples' house."
Videos shared on social media earlier in the day showed a crowd of people at the Capitol grounds when a gunshot sounded.
- Niamh Cavanagh
RIOT VICTIM
A woman who was shot dead inside the US Capitol as rioters stormed the building has been identified as a veteran of the US Air Force.
Ashli Babbit, of San Diego, California, was shot in the neck during the violent confrontation in Washington DC and later died in hospital.
Babbit had served 14 years in the Air Force and had completed four tours of duty, according to her husband who spoke to KUSI-TV.
He also described his late wife as a major President Trump supporter.
Fox 5 DC later reported that Babbit's mother-in-law told the TV station, “I really don't know why she decided to do this."
The day before she was fatally shot, apparently by Capitol Police, Babbit tweeted, “Nothing will stop us…. they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours….dark to light."
- Niamh Cavanagh
BARACK OBAMA CLAIMS TRUMP INCITED VIOLENCE IN THE U.S CAPITOL
Former U.S President Barack Obama attributed the violence in the Capitol to Donald Trump, who refused to accept the results of the 2020 election.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Obama called the protests "a moment of great dishonor and shame for our country" incited by President Trump's lies about the election's outcome.
"Right now, Republican leaders have a choice made clear in the desecrated chambers of democracy," Obama wrote.
"They can continue down this road and keep stoking the raging fires, Or they can choose reality and take the first steps toward extinguishing the flames. They can choose America."
- Niamh Cavanagh
PICTURED: THE RANSACKED OFFICE OF THE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN
Credit: Twitter Credit: Twitter Credit: Twitter - Niamh Cavanagh
RECAP – CAPITOL CARNAGE
At least four people have died and several others have been seriously injured during a violent siege on Capitol Hill in Washington DC.
Hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building where bloody clashes erupted in Congress on Wednesday.
The violence erupted as rioters fought cops and pushed their way inside the building as members of Congress were meeting to vote and certify Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election.
It came moments after Trump addressed his supporters at a nearby rally.
"We're going to walk down to the Capitol," he told his supporters earlier on Wednesday.
"And we're gonna cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. And we're probably not going to be cheering, so much for some of them, because you'll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong."
- Justin Lawrence
PRITI PATEL SAYS DONALD TRUMP 'DIRECTLY PROVOKED' US CAPITOL VIOLENCE
HOME SECRETARY Priti Patel has said Donald Trump directly provoked the violence in the US Capitol with incendiary remarks.
Patel, 48, condemned President Trump during an interview with the BBC and called his failure to intervene in the violence "completely wrong."
She said: "His comments directly led to the violence and so far he has failed to condemn that violence and that is completely wrong.
"He basically has made a number of comments yesterday that helped to fuel that violence and he didn’t do anything to de-escalate that whatsoever."
She reiterated her stance in an interview with Sky News where she said: "The violence should stop and he should absolutely condemn everything that has taken place.
“There’s no question about that at all. Someone was shot, people have died, this is terrible. Terrible beyond words quite frankly and there is no justification for it."
- Justin Lawrence
IVANKA TRUMP CALLS RIOTERS 'PATRIOTS' IN DELETED TWEET
DONALD TRUMP'S daughter Ivanka Trump called the rioters who stormed the US Capitol building patriots in a since deleted tweet.
Ivanka, 39, condemned the violence but referred to the rioters as patriots while doing so.
She tweeted: "American Patriots – any security breach or disrespect to our law enforcement is unacceptable. The violence must stop immediately. Please be peaceful."
After facing backlash for her choice of words, the message was deleted.
When quizzed by CNN to clarify if she was using the term patriots for the rioters, Ivanka responded: "No. Peaceful protest is patriotic. Violence is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms."
- Justin Lawrence
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS PRESENT IN US CAPITOL RIOT RECALL MOMENT
SEVERAL members of Congress from San Diego County were present when rioters stormed the US Capitol building.
U.S. Representative Juan Vargas was in attendance and described the moment the building was infiltrated.
Vargas, 59,who represents California’s 51st Congressional District tweeted: "I was close to the capitol and all of a sudden I heard a lot of commotion. I heard some yelling and I thought, ‘Oh, no. Here they come.
"And then I heard a Capitol Police officer and he goes, ‘You guys gotta go, you guys gotta go, they breached security. They are over the fences, they are over everything."
He then added that he then ran back to his office to find shelter and to make sure his staff was OK, and that he told them to find whatever they could use to defend themselves.
- Jessica Kwong
REPUBLICANS’ OBJECTIONS REJECTED IN SEVERAL STATES
Republicans’ efforts to object to the election results in several states failed as senators backed off from trying to stop the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
Vice President Mike Pence rejected objections to the electoral votes in Georgia, Michigan and Nevada, because they each failed to garner a signature from a senator.
Pence accepted Pennsylvania's objection to its electoral results.
The objection to certify Pennsylvania's electoral votes failed in the Senate on a 92-7 vote.
As of 1:30am on Thursday, the House was still deliberating on the objection to Pennsylvania’s results.
- Jessica Kwong
CONGRESS COUNTING VOTES
The House of Representatives and Senate resumed their counting of Electoral College votes on Wednesday night, hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in protest.
During the joint session of Congress, four lawmakers serving as tellers—two from each chamber—read the certificates of votes from each state in alphabetical order.
A presidential candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win.
Biden won the presidential election with 306 votes to President Donald Trump’s 232.
Trump supporters who broke into the Capitol succeeded in stopping lawmakers from completing the count on Wednesday afternoon
- Jessica Kwong
THREE DEAD AFTER CAPITOL RIOTS
Three people died of medical medical emergencies during Wednesday’s violent riots at the Capitol, according to DC Police Chief Robert Contee.
“One adult female and two adult males appear to have suffered from separate medical emergencies, which resulted in their deaths,” Contee said.
"Any loss of life in the District is tragic and our thoughts are with anyone impacted by their loss.”
Contee did not provide details on whether the people who died partook in storming the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
First responders transported people to nearby hospitals with injuries ranging from fractures to cardiac arrest.
- Jessica Kwong
D.C. MAYOR ADDS 15 DAYS TO PUBLIC EMERGENCY DECLARATION
On Wednesday night, following violent riots at the US Capitol, Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced an extension to the city’s emergency declaration.
Bowser added 15 days to the declaration, to cover the time period through the end of President Donald Trump’s presidency.
“President Trump continues to fan rage and violence by contending that the Presidential election was invalid,” Bowser said in statement.
“Persons are dissatisfied with judicial rulings and the findings of State Boards of Elections, and some persons can be expected to continue their violent protests through the inauguration.”
Washington, DC, is also under a 6pm curfew.
President-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on Jan. 20.
- Jessica Kwong
TRUMP’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT ALSO LOCKED
Instagram on Wednesday announced it would lock President Donald Trump’s account for 24 hours.
Facebook, which owns Instagram, earlier had announced it would lock the president’s account for the same amount of time.
Twitter also locked Trump’s account for 12 hours, beginning with the time that he deletes posts that violated the social media company’s policies.
If Trump does not delete the tweets, Twitter will keep his account locked.
Despite violent protests by Trump supporters and the fatal shooting of a woman at inside the Capitol building, the president did not back down from his false claims that Democrats stole the presidential election from him.
- Jessica Kwong
JIMMY CARTER: ‘THIS IS A NATIONAL TRAGEDY’
Former President Jimmy Carter called the riots at the Capitol a “national tragedy” and not a reflection of the country.
The 39th president said he and his wife Rosalynn were “troubled by the violence” where lawmakers were expected to certify President-elect Joe Biden as the winner.
“This is a national tragedy and is not who we are as a nation," the Democrat said.
"Having observed elections in troubled democracies worldwide, I know that we the people can unite to walk back from this precipice to peacefully uphold the laws of our nation, and we must.”
Carter added that he and his wife joined fellow Americans in “praying for a peaceful resolution so our nation can heal and complete the transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.”
- Chris Bradford
BILL CLINTON: 'ATTACK ON CAPITOL FUELED OVER FOUR YEARS OF POISON'
Former President Bill Clinton says the attack on the U.S. Capitol was fueled over four years of poisonous politics and lit by President Donald Trump.
The 42nd president said the riots resulted from a combination of deliberate disinformation that created distrust in the system and pitted Americans against one another.
He wrote: "The match was lit by Donald Trump and his most ardent enablers, including many in Congress, to overturn the results of an election he lost."
His wife, Hillary Clinton, lost a bitter election to Trump in 2016 and conceded to him immediately.
Trump has refused to accept his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden in November and is trying to cast him as an illegitimate president.
Trump had encouraged his supporters to come to Washington to fight Congress formal approval of Biden's win.
- Chris Bradford
TRUMP'S TWITTER ACCOUNT LOCKED
Twitter has suspended Donald Trump's Twitter account after repeated violations of its civic integrity policy.
The social networking giant had deleted two posts by the president – including a video – due to a risk of violence", while Facebook also deleted the clip.
The Republican's Twitter account will be locked for 12 hours following the removal of the posts.
"If the tweets are not removed, the account will be locked."
"Future violations of the Twitter rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in the permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account," they said.
Twitter had earlier removed the retweet, like and reply functions on the video, in which Mr Trump addressed his supporters who had clashed with police in Washington DC forcing a lockdown at the US Capitol building.
In the video, the president told protesters that they "have to go home now", adding "we don't want anybody hurt", but he also claimed that "this was a fraudulent election".
Credit: Getty Images – Getty
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