On Wednesday January 6th, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building. At this time the House and the Senate were clarifying the electoral vote count, confirming Joe Biden’s presidential win. 

The rioters broke through the police barriers and made it inside the Capitol building. The mob broke into the House and Senate chambers. All of the representatives inside the capitol were told to crouch under their desks and wear gas masks due to the tear gas in the rotunda. All of the lawmakers were eventually evacuated out of the Capitol building. The National Guard was called after the rioters had been inside for about an hour.

The house speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the lawmakers resumed the counting of the electoral votes after the protestors had been cleared out. Biden was announced the winner by vice president Mike Pence. 

There were twenty federal criminal defendants related to the riot. 6 people were reported dead including a police officer, an Air Force veteran shot by police, and 4 others dead. While the riots were being detained, the lawmakers returned to the Capitol to confirm the winning President. After lots of rioting, Trump tells them to “go home in peace”. After posting this message on Twitter most of his social media accounts were blocked or shut down. Later investigations found trucks with weapons such as bombs and guns. 

As for the aftermath of the riot, officials are doing their best to contain the White House and get it back to how it was before. Curators are searching the entire White House to make sure all pieces of art are safe. Around the Capitol building there is debris and a heavy military presence. Others fear that the raid was another super-spreader event for coronavirus. Along with the 6 dead, 56 officers or more were left injured. The morning of the attack, investigators went in and observed all broken artifacts. Bookshelves and walls were destroyed, there was pepper spray residue all over the floor, and blood stains were left on walls. 

Credits:

https://apps.bostonglobe.com/nation/graphics/2021/01/us-capitol-riots-timeline/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/01/06/dc-protests-trump-rally-live-updates/

https://newsela.com/read/trump-mob-storms-capitol/id/2001017797?assignment=2004287006?

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/us-capitol-lockdown/index.html